Sudan On The Edge: Bishops Call For Aid As Millions Face Death
UK bishops have expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, stating that the conflict has “no winners” and creates “one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of our time.” The civil war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has forced over 8.5 million Sudanese to flee their homes since the war began in April 2023.
effect of the Sudan civil-war
The war has triggered the world’s largest hunger crisis and the worst ongoing displacement crisis worldwide. The World Food Programme reports that there are now 10.5 million people displaced in Sudan, with over 25 million people in need of humanitarian aid. Nearly 15,000 have already been killed, and 26,000 more have been injured, with women and children bearing the brunt of the violence.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wale’s Lead Bishop for Africa, Bishop Paul Swarbrick, and Bishop Nick Baines, the Church of England’s Lead Bishop for Foreign Affairs, have called for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to avert a further catastrophic humanitarian hunger crisis. They urge the UK government and the international community to do what they can to bring about an immediate ceasefire and ensure unhindered humanitarian access.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the agency is “deeply disturbed” by the situation for civilians in and around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, where clashes and tensions have escalated. The agency is particularly alarmed about restrictions on civilian movements and reports that civilians are being attacked and robbed while attempting to flee south from the city. A major assault on El Fasher would put more than 800,000 civilians in grave danger, including more than 200,000 internally displaced people since the start of the war a year ago.
OCHA calls for an immediate de-escalation and for the parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, by taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects. The agency also flagged its “deep concern” about the wider humanitarian crisis in Sudan, stating that humanitarians urgently need expanded access across conflict lines and borders to reach people in need wherever they are.
CAFOD’s poll on Sudan’s civil-war
According to a recent poll released this week by CAFOD, the official overseas relief organization of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, just 5% of British people believe Sudan is presently facing the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster, surpassing statistics from Gaza, Ukraine, and Syria.
Content Credit/ Ajibola Emmanuel Adebayo
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1. https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1141122
2. https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2024-02/sudan-collapsing-heres-how-stop-it
