Darfur Region of Sudan on the Edge of Famine Amid Continual Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis

Operating in Chad among Sudanese refugees, aid workers have alerted authorities about the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, where continuous conflict has produced conditions almost approaching famine.

Recently returning from a trip in Nyala, Tammam Aloudat, a worker with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) stationed in South Darfur, detailed the severe hunger crisis engulfing the region. “There have been kids in the therapeutic feeding center, where we receive children with malnutrition who are above one-year-old, who looked like they are four or five months old,” Aloudat said.

He underlined the degree of poverty in the area and the fact that some youngsters have progressed to the point where they cannot eat even when food is readily available. Without major intervention, this degree of starvation is uncontrollable.

Aloudat expressed hope that more U.N. supplies may reach the most affected regions with the recent reopening of the Adre border crossing, announced by authorities. He noted, though, that many difficulties still exist, including infrastructural damage brought on by recent rain, which caused a major bridge in South Darfur to collapse, therefore greatly impeding the flow of significant amounts of relief.

The continuous fighting in Sudan aggravates the humanitarian situation even further. Most lately, the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the central province of Sennar’s Galgani village. At least 85 persons—including women and children—were reportedly plundered, burned, and slain by the RSF forces. The attack followed the villagers’s resistance to RSF fighters’ efforts at abduction and sexual abuse of women and girls.

Since the battle broke out in April 2023, the RSF has been constantly accused of perpetrating killings, rapes, and other egregious breaches of human rights. Beginning in Khartoum, the capital, the war has since engulfed the nation and brought anarchy upon Sudan.

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Diplomats from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the African Union, and the United Nations have tried mostly fruitfully to resume peace negotiations. The Sudanese military boycuted recent negotiations, and although the RSF dispatched a delegation to Geneva, they did not show up for the discussions.

The humanitarian situation in Sudan, especially in Darfur, keeps becoming worse as the battle stretches on. International groups and aid workers are advocating quick and more aggressive responses to handle the crisis and stop more deaths.