The fighting was devastating for a country with about a third of its population (about 16 million) in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has warned that intensive care for her 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children in need of around-the-clock care has been interrupted.
Power outages across the country have destroyed cold-chain stores of life-saving vaccines, as well as national inventories of insulin and some antibiotics, according to Save the Children. Millions of children are now at risk of disease and other health complications. Twelve percent of her 22 million children in the country suffer from malnutrition and are susceptible to other diseases. Foreign governments are preparing to evacuate their own citizens from Sudan. However, it remained unclear how to do so, as airports in Khartoum and other cities became battlefields.
Japan’s Defense Minister Hamadaordered a military plane dispatched to Djibouti, the Horn of Africa, to stand by about 60 Japanese to evacuate. Late Wednesday, the Netherlands also sent military transport planes to the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to prepare, but the Dutch Defense Ministry acknowledged that “evacuation is not possible at this time.”
Egyptian and Sudanese forces said Egypt had managed to repatriate dozens of military personnel arrested by the RSF when it attacked Merowe airport in the north of the capital at the start of the fighting, he said. Egypt said its personnel were there for training and joint exercises. The conflict has again derailed attempts to establish democratic rule in Sudan. That’s because a popular uprising helped overthrow longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir four years ago. Burhan and Dagalo jointly he will carry out a coup in 2021 to expel civilians from the interim government.
The outburst of violence comes after weeks of heightened tension between the two generals over a new international attempt to force a return to civilian rule.
Both sides have a long history of human rights violations. The RSF is an offshoot of the Janjaweed militias accused of widespread atrocities when the government used them to quell rebellion in the Darfur region of western Sudan in the early 2000s. The conflict has raised fears of spillovers from the strategically located country to its African neighbors.
Fighting in Sudan has forced up to 20,000 Sudanese to flee eastern Chad, the United Nations said Thursday. Chad’s Defense Minister Daud Yaya Brahim said at least 320 Sudanese soldiers had fled to disarmed Chad. Troops appeared to be fleeing Darfur, where the RSF was the main force.
The fighting has been disastrous for a country where the United Nations says around a third of the population — some 16 million people — are in need of humanitarian aid. The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF warned that critical care has been disrupted for 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children, who need round-the-clock treatment.
Save the Children said power outages across the country have destroyed cold chain storage facilities for lifesaving vaccines, as well as the national stock of insulin and several antibiotics. Millions of children, the aid group said, are now at risk of disease and further health complications. It said 12% of the country’s 22 million children are suffering from malnutrition and are vulnerable to other diseases.
Foreign governments geared up to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. But with airports in Khartoum and other cities turned into battlegrounds, it remained uncertain how they would do so.
Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Thursday ordered military aircraft sent to the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti to stand by for an evacuation of around 60 Japanese nationals, though it was not clear when one would take place. The Netherlands sent military transport craft to the Jordanian port city of Aqaba late Wednesday to be ready as well, though the Dutch Defense Ministry acknowledged that “evacuations are not possible at the moment.”
The Egyptian and Sudanese militaries said that Egypt succeeded in repatriating dozens of its military personnel who had been detained by the RSF when it attacked Merowe airport, north of the capital, early in the fighting. Egypt said its personnel were there for training and joint exercises.The conflict has once again derailed Sudan’s attempt to establish democratic rule since a popular uprising helped oust helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir four years ago. Burhan and Dagalo jointly carried out a coup purging civilians from a transitional government in 2021.
The explosion of violence came after weeks of growing tensions between the two generals over new international attempts to press a return to civilian government.
Both sides have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.
The conflict has raised fears of a spillover from the strategically located nation to its African neighbors.
