The United Nations says that the fighting in Sudan has caused the displacement of 8 million people (Al Jazeera)
Today, Wednesday, the United States of America imposed sanctions on a bank and two companies on charges of providing financing to both sides of the conflict in Sudan, while the United Nations said that the battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces caused the displacement of 8 million people.
The US Treasury Department announced that it would freeze the assets of Gulf Bank and criminalize any dealings with it in the United States, given that it played a “fundamental” role in financing the Rapid Support Forces.
The ministry stated - in a statement - that this bank received $50 million from the Central Bank of Sudan immediately before the outbreak of war last April between the Rapid Support Forces and the army.
The sanctions also targeted “Zadna International Investment Company Limited,” which Washington suspects was used for money laundering and military commercial operations, in addition to “Al-Fakher Advanced Business Company Limited,” which the US Treasury Department said helped the Rapid Support Forces earn millions of dollars by exporting gold, which Support forces were allowed to purchase weapons.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, "The United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal to put an end to this devastating war, enhance accountability, and help the Sudanese people achieve their demands for freedom, peace, and justice."
The United States and Saudi Arabia led negotiations between the two sides, but those negotiations did not lead to stopping the war and returning stability to the country.
Tens of thousands dead and millions displaced
The war claimed the lives of at least 130,000 people, according to estimates by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a statement on Wednesday that the brutal conflict in Sudan led to the displacement of about 8 million people, and called on the international community for urgent support to meet the needs of the displaced.
Grandi added during a visit to Ethiopia, "I heard painful stories about the loss of family, friends, homes and livelihoods, but amidst this despair, I also sensed the determination of refugees to move forward if we provide them with support and opportunities."
On December 21, a United Nations spokesman estimated that the conflict constituted “the largest displacement crisis in the world.”
Since April 2023, Ethiopia, one of the six countries neighboring Sudan, has received more than 100,000 people who fled the battles, according to the United Nations. These are in addition to about 50,000 Sudanese refugees present in the country.
The UNHCR said, in a statement last week, that "the number of displaced Sudanese in Chad has reached 500,000 people since the outbreak of war in mid-April, while in South Sudan, an average of 1,500 people cross into the country daily."
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies