By When the fighting started on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) there was an immediate crisis for the Sudanese people that worsened already difficult and dangerous conditions for millions of people. Muslim Girl reported on this in April of 2023, stating that the conflict broke out due to a power struggle between the SAF and the RSF during the attempted transition to democracy.
After almost a year of conflict, the situation is one of the most dire in the world. The International Rescue Committee’s Emergency Watchlist designates which countries are most likely to experience a deteriorating humanitarian crisis, and this year, “Sudan tops the list due to escalating conflict, mass displacement, an economic crisis, and a near collapse of health care services.”
A few statistics about the current crisis in Sudan as laid out, word for word, by the International Rescue Committee (IRC):
- 5.9 million people internally displaced since April (of 9.6 million total IDPs).
- Over 1.4 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries since April.
- Over half of the population (24.8 million people) are in need of humanitarian aid.
- 17.7 million people (37% of the population) facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Sudan was already experiencing a humanitarian crisis prior to the conflict with 15.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid. Now, almost half of Sudan’s population is in need of aid — almost 25 million people. As of this time, about 12,000 people have been killed, with reports of ethnic cleansing and mass killings. The situation in Sudan has created the largest displacement crisis in the world, with half of those displaced being children, making it the largest child displacement crisis in the world.
There is widespread food insecurity, with the conflict expanding into Sudan’s areas of food production. This has led to lootings, and attacks on markets, warehouses, and humanitarian aid.
One of the major problems with the crisis in Sudan is the difficulty of providing aid. Due to the dangerous nature of the situation in the country, ACAPS has rated the constraints on humanitarian access in Sudan as extreme (5 out of 5) which means that it is one of the most difficult places in the world to reach with resources like food and health care. This leaves many of the millions of displaced people in the region with little or no help.
The healthcare system has largely collapsed and diseases are widespread. Cholera is increasing, and over 1000 children have died of a measles outbreak.
The education system has also collapsed severely impacting the children of Sudan. There are more than 10,400 schools that have closed, leaving an estimated 19 million children without education and at risk of abuse or exploitation. The generational crisis facing Sudan with this collapse of the education crisis makes it one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a child.
There is severe food insecurity as a result of the conflict as well. Relief Web reports: “The latest projection update of Sudan reveals that intense conflict and organized violence, coupled with the continued economic decline, have driven approximately 17.7 million people across Sudan (37 percent of the analyzed population) into high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse) between October 2023 and February 2024. Of those, about 4.9 million (10 percent of the population analyzed) are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), and almost 12.8 million people (27 percent of the population analyzed) are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).”
War crimes are widespread, an ongoing problem in Sudan that predates the current outbreak of violence. Killings of aid workers, lawyers, and other people have been identified. There are also reports of sexual violence against women and children. The UN has done little to intervene. HRW reports, “On September 12, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and his designated expert on Sudan both reiterated concerns about ongoing widespread violations in the country, including ethnic-based violence, targeted killings, torture, and acts of sexual violence and emphasized the importance of holding perpetrators accountable.”
The crisis in Sudan for our brothers and sisters, and especially the children who are being affected, remains a crisis that the global Muslim community needs to keep in our prayers. May Allah aid them and bring peace to their country, and the region.