Sudan: clashes continue on the eve of a new truce
Smoke in Khartoum following fresh clashes in the Sudanese capital, May 3, 2023. © AFP
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In Sudan, a new truce is due to begin on Thursday 4 May until 11 May. The agreement was announced on Tuesday (May 2nd) by South Sudan following a phone call from President Salva Kiir with the leaders of the national army, General al-Burhan, and General Hemedti, head of the paramilitary forces FSR. Nevertheless, on the ground, the situation remains dire.
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Despite previous truces, the fighting never really stopped. This Wednesday, May 3, clashes continue in particular in Khartoum. According to several sources, there are clashes around the presidential palace which the RSF paramilitaries claimed to have taken control of this week. Planes are also flying over the capital and militiamen are trying to shoot them down, says a journalist at the scene. According to the UN, 528 people have died since the conflict began on 15 April and 4,600 people have been wounded.
The violence has sparked inter-communal clashes, especially in Darfur, in el-Geneina. At least 96 people have died in clashes over the past 10 days, according to the OHCHR. Now, 334,000 people have been displaced and 100,000 are refugees in neighbouring countries, mainly Chad and Egypt.
UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths has just arrived in the east of the country.
In Port #Sudan, @volkerperthes and I spoke with General Burhan, General Hemedti and civil society leaders.
We stressed that humanitarian aid must reach the people. But we need strong guarantees on the safety and security of aid workers and supplies. pic.twitter.com/cj4tpNApuh
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) May 3, 2023
From Port Sudan, Martin Griffiths called for security guarantees at the highest level to ensure the delivery of aid. Six World Food Programme (WFP) trucks were looted while "on their way" to Darfur, Griffiths said.
Inflation and out-of-service hospitals
At the same time, residents are facing runaway inflation. Food or gasoline prices have risen by 40 to 60 percent in some places. According to the WHO, more than two-thirds of hospitals are out of service because of direct attacks, lack of electricity, water, gasoline and medicines. Cold chains have been broken, with half of the vaccines lost, according to the doctors' union.
The humanitarian response is very difficult. WFP is expected to resume its activities in the coming days. UNHCR and UNICEF have been able to provide some assistance in Northern Darfur or to the Ministry of Health in Khartoum. 80 tons of medical aid are waiting in Port Sudan, 3 others are ready in Dubai.
At the end of the day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for renewed efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Sudan, a country that "cannot afford a power struggle between two people".
Aid must be allowed into Sudan, and we need secure and immediate access to be able to distribute it to people who need it most.
Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected.
Humanitarian workers and assets must be respected.
They are #NotATarget. pic.twitter.com/eGC36mBJnI
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 3, 2023
► Read also: Report - Chad: the challenge of the census of Sudanese refugees on their arrival
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- Sudan
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- Abdel Fattah al-Burhan