Sudan, a country dealing with a year-long civil war mostly between two armed forces in an attempt to take nationwide control, is facing an increasingly severe food crisis as millions fight starvation and malnutrition.
While the country faces feminine, the city of el-Fasher is in the midst of territorial conflicts with North Darfur as the goal.
Here what you need to know about what’s happening in Sudan:
After 14 months, Sudan is still facing one of its most dangerous food security crisis, breaking records and leading to grim circumstances for its people.
With more than half of the population—47.2 million—facing severe food insecurity, the effects are dire, with increased lack of nutrition, lack of food and starvation plaguing Sudanese citizens.
To measure the nation’s food insecurity phases, one must look at the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The scale ranges from “minimal,” where people have enough food, to “famine,” with extreme levels of starvation and death tolls. The scale was created to be used by governments, humanitarian aid services, or individuals to determine whether assistance must be given.
As of April 2023, conflicts arose when a personal rivalry between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted into an open fire in the capital, Khartoum, which then led to the rest of the country as they fought for control of Sudan. This chain of events created difficulty for the IPC to measure Sudan’s food crisis.
In March, an alert was announced about the immediate need to stop the food shortage from happening. With the IPC, Sudan’s technical working group published new conducted information between late April and early June showing that a rapid increase of famine had proved the IPC wrong, as millions of people experienced “emergency” food conditions than expected.
According to an IPC analysis, nearly 21.3 million people in Sudan were estimated to face severe food insecurity in April and May. This number is estimated to jump to 25.6 million between June and September 2024, a 45% increase from the prior IPC analysis made between October 2023 and February 2024.
Since April 15, the U.S. has provided Sudan with over one billion in aid, together with USAID, leading to an additional amount of more than $699 million being sent to offer necessary food, medical care, protection, sanitation and more. Despite relief efforts, the war continues to impact millions of displaced families and citizens; thousands have been killed or are dying of hunger.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health, noted that, “Sudan as we know it has died. And it is now a series of regional conflicts with regional forces defending regional interests.”
This regional conflict comes from Darfur, a region in Sudan close to the size of Spain. It is divided into five states and both the RSF and SAF are fighting for the last remaining state to control, North Darfur. Four are controlled by the RSF, while the SAF has a military base in the capital, el-Fasher.
Before this fight to control the region began, there was a truce in which local armed groups agreed not to take part in the civil war to remain neutral. However, in April 2024, the truce began to crumble, with several local armed groups siding with the SAF to win against the RSF.
Alan Boswell, Horn of Africa Director of an International Crisis Group, said, “And that puts el-Fasher very much back in the crosshairs of RSF. What RSF is doing in el-Fasher right now is that they are essentially trying to strangulate the city. They’ve even tried cutting off the water to the city.”
If the RSF gains control of el-Fasher, it will have all of Darfur and its three border points with Libya, Chad and the Central African Republic to control. In el-Fasher, military-level tanks roam through neighborhoods, demolishing their targets and caught in the crossfire are more than 1.8 million civilian homes.
While there have been some discussions to end the war in Darfur and Sudan as a whole, many contributing factors won’t allow a permanent ceasefire. Some reports speculate that other countries have been supporting one side or both for their own personal gain. These countries include Russia, UAE, Egypt and Iran.
Thousands of displaced Sudanese are sheltering in tents in Port Sudan as the heat surpasses 44 °C (111 °F).
— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 10, 2024
The camp is also experiencing frequent power cuts and water scarcity, which is causing allergic reactions and the rapid spread of diseases. pic.twitter.com/WgYOrzYTfl
“The spillover from the Sudan war is tremendous. It affects the whole region. It could easily affect the whole continent of Africa and nothing is being done,” said Dallia Mohamed Adelmoniem, political commentator and analyst.
