Today's Edition
DINA MAHMOUD (KHARTOUM, LONDON)
UN agencies and relief organisations fear that the international community is not paying enough attention to the crisis in Sudan, expressing concern that this lack of attention could lead to more violations on the ground. Amid those fears, Western analysts have also warned of the dangerous geopolitical regional repercussions of the seven-month-long conflict in the country.
As the prospects for ending the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, analysts emphasise that neither side has demonstrated the ability to deliver a “decisive blow” to each other. Moreover, the ongoing conflict exacerbates the suffering of the civilians, analysts added.
Amid pessimistic expectations that the continuation of fighting could lead to a security and political collapse in
Sudan, similar to what some neighbouring countries have experienced in the past, Cameron Hudson, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, criticised the world for “downplaying” such risks, as it is “preoccupied” with crises like those in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.
Hudson warned that Sudan’s area, larger than Libya’s, would make any collapse “catastrophic”, exceeding the consequences of the unrest and security chaos that dominated the Libyan scene after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in August 2011.
In a statement published by the British newspaper “Telegraph” on its website, the Western expert said that “the materialisation of a chaos scenario in Sudan could push tens of millions of its inhabitants to flee either through other African countries or via the Red Sea, escaping from their country’s slide into the furnace of violence and ethnic fighting”.
There are fears that this could pave the way for terrorist and extremist organisations to fill the political and security vacuum resulting from any potential disintegration of Sudanese state institutions. This would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis that has already left nearly half of the population, totalling about 50 million people, in dire need of food and other aid.
While UN estimates indicate that the death toll of the Sudanese crisis has now exceeded 10,000 people, observers note that the actual number may be much higher, as hospitals have stopped functioning, and many families are forced to bury their loved ones in makeshift cemeteries without recording them in death registries.
At the same time, international relief organisations express concern about their inability to deliver aid to various parts of Sudan. Some say that they are prevented from playing their role, especially in the main combat zones in the capital Khartoum and the Darfur region.
Officials from the “Doctors Without Borders” organisation have called on the international community to show greater concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation faced by the Sudanese, especially as the relief needs grow. They also stressed that the necessary funding to assist the affected Sudanese is lacking. This makes the Sudanese crisis a “silently endured humanitarian ordeal”, they added.
