2023-04-18 11:01:10
While there is no truce, neither in Khartoum nor in the rest of the country, in the fighting between the army and the paramilitary forces, the humanitarian consequences of the ongoing conflict could be terrible for Sudan. The ongoing clashes have already left nearly 200 dead and around 1,800 injured. Before this outburst of violence, the country was already in a critical situation. At the end of February, the UN predicted that a third of the population would need humanitarian aid in 2023.
The country has been in a crisis situation for twenty years and the start of the war in Darfur (in western Sudan) in 2003. Justine Muzik Piquemal, geographical manager at the NGO Solidarités International, fears that the efforts made for years have been annihilated: “What has been happening since Saturday April 15 in Sudan will exacerbate the crisis, and everything that has been put in place so far risks collapsing. The living conditions of the population are unworthy. The longer it drags on, the more catastrophic the consequences will be. »
Water, the number one problem
“The central issue is water. We are in the middle of Ramadan, and it is 40°C in Khartoum”, explains Clément Deshayes, anthropologist, specialist in Sudan. Since the beginning of the conflict, the inhabitants have been barricaded in their homes, partly deprived of water and electricity according to the districts of the capital. The question of their supply arises acutely. “If the fighting continues for several more days, that will be a problem”, continues the anthropologist.
Water is vital for staying hydrated, but it can also pose a threat as a vector of disease. One of the main missions of NGOs in Sudan is to build latrines, which need to be maintained to minimize the risk of cholera. “It’s been four days since we emptied a latrine”, is alarmed Justine Muzik Piquemal, who fears that an epidemic will start quickly: “If doctors cannot accommodate patients, there will be an unprecedented health crisis. »
3.7 million internally displaced
Like the rest of East Africa, Sudan is also in the grip of climate change. Impressive floods punctuate increasingly long periods of drought. These increasingly marked hazards are causing major population displacements. “We end up with corridors of displaced nomads, which creates interethnic conflicts,” describes Justine Muzik Piquemal.
In all, 3.7 million Sudanese are internally displaced, mainly in Darfur, according to the United Nations. Populations that NGOs try to help, but which are sometimes difficult to reach: certain regions, such as Kordofan (south of the country), pose real security problems, including for humanitarian associations.
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