In a recent distressing update from Nyala, the capital city of South Darfur in western Sudan, the United Nations has confirmed that at least 60 individuals have been killed, roughly 250 injured, and an alarming 50,000 have fled due to the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan (OCHA) disclosed in a press statement on Tuesday that the clashes, which have been ongoing since August 14, are the cause behind the mounting casualties in Nyala. Preliminary reports indicate that approximately 10,000 families, amounting to around 50,000 individuals, have been forced to evacuate their homes.
The statement further highlighted the dire situation at the Turkish hospital in Nyala, which, while already grappling with staff shortages, is struggling to accommodate the surge in wounded individuals.
The UN warns that the continuation of these hostilities may further deteriorate the already unstable humanitarian condition in the state. This is expected to intensify the health, nutrition, sanitation, and food security needs of the most vulnerable populations, especially given the current challenges in accessing certain areas.
According to UN data, Nyala is home to over 400,000 residents. Out of these, nearly 95,000 were in dire need of humanitarian assistance even before the conflict erupted. Since April 15, confrontations between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been observed in Khartoum and other cities.
These conflicts have sadly led to the deaths of more than 3,000 individuals, with over 6,000 injured, as per the statistics from Sudan’s Ministry of Health.
UN reports further stress that the persistent strife has displaced more than four million individuals across all 18 Sudanese states. About 3.12 million have relocated to neighboring regions away from the conflict zones in Khartoum and other cities, while approximately 880,000 have sought refuge across Sudan’s borders in neighboring countries, including Central Africa, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
A heart-wrenching crisis is unfolding in Sudan, where 500 children have tragically lost their lives due to hunger, exacerbating the dire humanitarian situation in a nation deeply scarred by conflict.
The discord, which erupted on April 15 between the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has wrought havoc. Reports by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project cite a staggering toll of 5,000 fatalities and displacement of over four million individuals.
Save the Children, a British charity organization, delivered a grim account of the situation, revealing that at least 498 children, and likely even more, have succumbed to hunger-related causes in Sudan. Shockingly, this includes two dozen infants in a state orphanage. The charity underscored that it had been compelled to shutter 57 of its nutrition centers since the commencement of the war, with remaining facilities grappling with critically low stocks.
Save the Children’s Sudan Country Director, Arif Noor, lamented the unfolding tragedy, stating, “Never did we think we would see children dying from hunger in such numbers, but this is now the reality in Sudan.” He emphasized that preventable hunger was claiming innocent lives, describing the heartrending scenes of severely ill children arriving at nutrition centers with desperate parents.
Amid this grim landscape, 20 international humanitarian organizations have issued a joint warning, indicating that over six million Sudanese citizens are teetering on the brink of famine.
The violence has continued unabated, primarily centered in Khartoum and Darfur. The Darfur region, home to a quarter of Sudan’s population, has witnessed significant turmoil, with Nyala experiencing a concentrated wave of violence. The UN reports casualties of at least 60 people killed, 250 wounded, and 50,000 displaced since August 11.
The fight has escalated to the North Darfur state capital, El Fasher, resulting in the burning of at least 27 localities by the RSF and allied militias. The absence of effective intervention has enabled the RSF to operate largely unchecked, while the army remains confined to its bases, noted Nathaniel Raymond, who leads the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health.
As the war-torn nation grapples with this devastating humanitarian crisis, the international community is faced with the urgent task of not only addressing the conflict’s root causes but also delivering immediate aid to alleviate the plight of those enduring unimaginable suffering.