Famine looms in Sudan war survivors tell of killings

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The following report by the BBC is not balanced. It is mostly filled with graphic news of violence against males and sexual violence and rape against girls and women in Sudan. Not a word about justice or sexual violence and rape being carried out on boys and men. Why not? The report says sexual violence is a taboo topic in Sudan. It doesn't explain rape is rife in all wars not just in Sudan. "Famine looms in Sudan" says the title but the content does little to educate readers about the reasons for the looming famine and the lack of telecoms and internet connectivity, humanitarian aid and access for aid. The report says nothing new, uses cobbled together news from old reports and uses exploitative photos of vulnerable people. Shame on the BBC for allowing such shoddy reporting on Sudan where babies, children and adults are starving to death and famine looms. What does the BBC expect the readers of this report to learn, I wonder. At the end of the report I have selected and added details of the National Male Survivor Helpline and Online Service run by Safeline. 

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BBC News - 20 March 2024

Famine looms in Sudan as civil war survivors tell of killings and rapes
By Feras Kilani in Sudan & Mercy Juma in Chad

Additional reporting by Peter Ball and Mohamed Ibrahim, verification by Peter Mwai

WARNING: This article contains accounts of physical and sexual violence

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.

National Male Survivor Helpline and Online Service run by Safeline, provides emotional support, advice and information for children and adults who identify as male affected by recent/historic sexual abuse.
Phone: 0808 800 5005
Text: 07860 065187
Webchat available via the website
Visit the Safeline website

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68606201

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Sudan: 3.9M people food insecure in Khartoum state. Khartoum's partly a ghost town, only 20-30% remain

IN some areas of Khartoum you can see ordinary scenes of life, such as children playing outside and parents going to the market. But the atmosphere remains very tense and extremely anxiety-provoking, even post-apocalyptic. Many buildings have been gutted and looted. There are large numbers of RSF fighters roaming the streets and regularly forming checkpoints. Read more.  

From MSF website 

(Médecins Sans Frontières aka Doctors Without Borders) 

Dated Tuesday, 12 March 2024 - here is a copy in full:

SUDAN: "THE SITUATION REMAINS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT"

The city of Khartoum has been the epicentre of the war in Sudan for many months. While part of the city is now experiencing some respite, the situation remains extremely difficult and precarious for the civilian population who continue to live there. 

We take a look at the situation with Jean-Guy Vataux, who recently returned from Sudan, where he was Head of Mission for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Khartoum.   

Patients at an MSF clinic in Zamzam camp, currently hosting more than 300,000 internally displaced people. A rapid nutrition and mortality assessment carried out by MSF in Zamzam camp in January 2024 reveals a deadly situation that has unfolded over the past nine months. 

© Mohamed Zakaria

AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE RAPID SUPPORT FORCES (RSF), WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE SUDANESE CAPITAL?  

Khartoum is partly a ghost town. Around 20 to 30 per cent of its population remains. The inhabitants fled en masse. However, some returned after the RSF took control of neighbouring Al Jazirah state in December. As a result, in some areas you can see ordinary scenes of life, such as children playing outside and parents going to the market. But the atmosphere remains very tense and extremely anxiety-provoking, even post-apocalyptic. Many buildings have been gutted and looted. There are large numbers of RSF fighters roaming the streets and regularly forming checkpoints.  

So Khartoum remains a city at war. The RSF attacks the government enclaves with artillery on a regular basis, while the Sudanese Armed Forces respond with aerial bombardments. There is still an atmosphere of active war and a very strong fear of both parties to the conflict among the population. For example, some of the staff working at the Turkish Hospital supported by MSF never go outside, not even to run an errand in front of the hospital.  

WHAT ARE THE LIVING CONDITIONS LIKE FOR THE CIVILIANS WHO HAVE REMAINED IN KHARTOUM? 

Since the RSF took control of neighbouring Al Jazirah state, the markets in Khartoum have become better supplied with food, particularly fruit and vegetables. But the situation remains extremely difficult for the inhabitants and will likely continue to deteriorate. There is a major economic crisis in Sudan. 

And not just since the start of the war. For the last five years, the economy has been shrinking and today it's very hard to earn a living in Khartoum. It's an economy that is heavily affected by looting, and eventually there will be nothing left to loot.   

The overall indicators calculated by the United Nations teams for Khartoum state are extremely worrying. Even though we have not been able to verify these through our work, they show that 3.9 million people face high levels of food insecurity in Khartoum state. 

There is also the risk of an epidemic, which could lead to high mortality rates among a population that is particularly vulnerable in terms of nutrition. For the time being, Khartoum has been relatively spared, probably because of the low population density due to the mass departure of inhabitants. The cholera epidemic, which developed mainly in the towns of eastern Sudan, has affected the capital, but at very low rates. Similarly, there have been a few cases of measles, but here too the outbreak has remained extremely limited. Khartoum has not seen any outbreaks of dengue fever either, although there have been major outbreaks in other Sudanese cities. But there is no guarantee that Khartoum will remain unaffected by future epidemic outbreaks. 

HOW DOES THE POPULATION ACCESS HEALTHCARE?  

There are a few hospitals financed and run by the RSF, which do a bit of medical work in the city, but these are mainly for their fighters. A highly specialised cardiac surgery programme, set up by an international NGO, also continues to operate, but it does not meet the needs of a population in a city at war. This leaves only the four hospitals and a primary health care centre supported by MSF.

Even if Khartoum has achieved a degree of stability in terms of security, going to a hospital still represents a major risk. So people delay coming for as long as possible and think twice before crossing the city. The only people who continue to come quickly are those who have suffered trauma, whether from acts of war or accidents.  

At the Turkish Hospital, we saw people taking great risks to come and get the treatment they needed, like crossing the Nile by boat when there were bombings and snipers everywhere.  

HOW DOES THE TURKISH HOSPITAL, WHERE YOU WERE BASED IN KHARTOUM, CONTINUE TO FUNCTION? 

The Turkish Hospital is one of the few hospitals where the staff stayed after the war broke out. Today, the teams from the Ministry of Health tell us that if MSF hadn't come to support the hospital, whether by supplying medicines or paying salaries, they would have left the city—and therefore their posts—very quickly. 

The hospital was in a government zone when MSF began its collaboration. It then came under the control of the RSF when they took over the whole of the south of the town, including the hospital area. Despite this, the hospital was relatively spared from the fighting and bombing.   

Since then, activity in the emergency room has been fairly constant, with around a hundred visits a day, mainly for non-war related surgeries, obstetrics and road accidents. From time to time, war surgery is also necessary. During offensives or bombardments, we can treat up to 60 war casualties a day. For the rest of the facility, it is standard hospital activity, with a paediatric ward, a maternity unit, an internal medicine ward and a small outpatient department.  

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE WAR ON HEALTH STAFF? 

The staff who work in the Turkish Hospital are under immense pressure. On the one hand, they are under pressure from the RSF, who are carrying out arbitrary arrests and brutal detentions of the civilian population, including Ministry of Health employees. As Ministry of Health staff are civil servants, the Rapid Support Forces consider that they may be spies in the pay of the Sudanese Armed Forces.  

On the government side, they also face growing suspicion. As the war goes on and civil servants carry out their work in RSF-controlled areas, the government's view of them is that they are now part of the RSF. There have been reports of incidents where civil servants have been arrested and ill-treated at Sudanese Armed Forces checkpoints on their way back to government zones, for example. So they're really between a rock and a hard place. But obviously, the fear is that the pressure will become too great and they will decide to flee abroad or to elsewhere in Sudan. 

HOW IS THE HOSPITAL SUPPLIED WITH EQUIPMENT AND MEDICINES?  

As with the other health structures supported by MSF, we have had problems at the Turkish Hospital since October when the government decided to blockade the city of Khartoum. At that point, it was no longer possible to transport medical equipment and medicines to RSF-controlled areas from Port Sudan, where the cargo ships arrive.   

So there was a serious shortage for a few weeks, until the RSF took control of Al Jazirah state and in particular the town of Wad Madani where our supplies were stored. From the moment it was taken over by the RSF, we were able to go there and bring most of the medical stocks to Khartoum.  

That said, in two months' time, the shortage problem will arise again.  We probably still won't be able to get the stocks and staff reinforcements through from Port Sudan, which remains under government control. We don't foresee that the government will change its policy. We are therefore in the process of trying to build a supply corridor from Chad.

3.9 million people face high levels of food insecurity in Khartoum state.
-Jean-Guy Vataux, MSF Head of Mission in Khartoum

...some of the staff working at the Turkish Hospital supported by MSF never go outside, not even to run an errand in front of the hospital. 

-Jean-Guy Vataux, MSF Head of Mission in Khartoum

View original: https://msf.org.au/article/project-news/sudan-situation-remains-extremely-difficult

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Related

Sudan Watch - March 08, 2024

UNSC adopts Resolution 2724 (2024) calling for cessation of hostilities in Sudan during Ramadan

THE UN Security Council on Friday (Mar 8) adopted a key resolution on Sudan, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the war torn country during the month of Ramadan, which begins on Sunday. There were 14 votes in favour, 0 against, one abstention (Russia).

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/03/unsc-adopts-resolution-2724-2024.html

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Sudan Watch - March 11, 2024

VIDEO news report from Khartoum, Sudan on the first day of Ramadan shows no cessation of hostilities

Mr AlMigdad Hassan, correspondent for AlArabiya News Channel has filed his video report direct from Khartoum, Sudan to his X account on the first day of Ramadan, March 11th. Sadly, the footage in his report copied below shows that the cessation of hostilities by the belligerents hasn't happened.

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/03/sudan-video-news-report-from-khartoum.html

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Sudan Watch - March 12, 2024

Sudan: Khartoum is still in total blackout, desperate need for humanitarian aid, basic essentials, electricity

Here is a message I received from a reader in Khartoum, Sudan last Sunday (Mar 10). Sadly, in short it says, Khartoum is still in total blackout, some neighbourhoods have had no electricity and water for over ten months, there is a desperate need for humanitarian aid.

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/03/sudan-khartoum-is-still-in-total.html

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Sudan Watch - March 02, 2024

Sudan: In Zamzam camp, North Darfur, the death rate is catastrophic. At least 1 child dies every 2 hours

Malnutrition and disease are rife at the ‘overwhelmed’ Zamzam camp, a host to 300,000 internally displaced people, one of hundreds in Sudan, where war has displaced nearly 8 million people. The scale is simply terrifying. Zamzam is just one camp. There are hundreds of others in Sudan. 

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/03/sudan-in-zamzam-camp-north-darfur-death.html

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Sudan: 500,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad in dire need of aid. Testimonies recount unspeakable horrors

“Testimonies recount unspeakable horrors - family members killed, women enduring heinous acts of abduction and sexual violence, and homes reduced to ashes. Despite the tireless efforts of humanitarian organisations and the welcoming gestures from the host communities and the government of Chad, the situation is close to catastrophic.” -Stephen Cornish, MSF Director General 

“They told us that this wasn’t our country and gave us two options: immediately leave for Chad or be killed. They took some men and I saw them shooting them in the streets, with no one to bury the corpses.” -H., A refugee who fled to Adre from El Geneina X

Source: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aka Doctors Without Borders

Statement by Stephen Cornish, MSF Director General 

Dated 22 December 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Half a million Sudanese refugees in Chad in dire need of humanitarian aid

This week, I visited the camps in eastern Chad to witness the living conditions of Sudanese refugees. 

I have worked as a humanitarian worker in countries across the globe, but what I saw in Chad in this emergency has shocked me to my core.

With such a rapid and vast displacement of people fleeing harrowing violence, the overwhelming nature of how many people have sought refuge here and knowing what made them flee is really hard on the heart.

So many people seeking refuge in the desert are relying on humanitarian aid, which is inadequate and sporadic. This cannot go on. 

Despite the tireless efforts of humanitarian organisations and the welcoming gestures from the host communities and the government of Chad, the situation is close to catastrophic.

From insufficient access to food, water and shelter, to concerns about proper hygiene, it’s a daily struggle for those who have left almost everything behind. Approximately 150,000 individuals in Adre transit camp and the surrounding areas live week to week, navigating through precarious conditions to survive.  

The limited food distributions happen irregularly and the amount distributed typically lasts only a couple of weeks. On top of that, not everyone is receiving these distributions.

In Adre, there’s one latrine for 300 to 400 people - far below the recommend standards. Despite tremendous efforts put forth by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and local partners, delivering half a million litres of water daily, refugees only receive between six to eight litres per day.

People don't have enough water to bathe, to clean, or to cook. They don’t have suitable jerry cans in order to be able to collect and store water properly.

We've already seen a very high incidence of malnutrition, as well as high numbers of people suffering from diarrhoea and malaria. Speaking with the doctors here this week, the number of cases of malaria has decreased but it is still widespread.  

Our role now is to ensure enough assistance together with other partners going forward so we don't end up in another catastrophic situation several months down the road. Today, people can survive for the next couple of months, but what will happen after that?  

An elderly person collects water from a distribution point. Refugees here only receive between six to eight litres per day for drinking, bathing, cooking and cleaning. Chad, 7 December 2023. 

RENAUD MASBEYE/MSF

There are many organisations here on the ground, but they don't have the financial resources to meet the needs of the people. So, we need governments, we need donor countries to help organisations on the ground to scale up and meet the emergency needs, from shelter to water to food.  

The people suffering in this crisis are predominantly women and children, while many are also victims of large-scale violence.

Their testimonies recount unspeakable horrors - family members killed, women enduring heinous acts of abduction and sexual violence, and homes reduced to ashes. Their sole aspiration is to find a safe haven in Chad and be able to live in decent and dignified conditions.  

These people, relocated in the desert, cannot face this ordeal alone. This cannot be put aside and forgotten as just another crisis. Solid and sustained humanitarian commitments, and an urgent scale up of aid efforts on the ground are urgently required to avoid a catastrophic crisis and large-scale misery in the months to come. 

View the original report:

English  https://www.msf.org/half-million-sudanese-refugees-chad-dire-need-humanitarian-aid

Arabic https://www.msf.org/ar/نصف-مليون-لاجئ-سوداني-في-تشاد-في-حاجة-ماسة-للمساعدات-الإنسانية

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MSF Sudan: Severe humanitarian needs after half a million people flee violence in Wad Madani, Aj Jazhira

“Because of the violent clashes and the crisis... we went to Khartoum. But the war followed us to Khartoum, so we went to Wad Madani. And then, the story continues.” -Maha, a displaced woman in Tanideba camp X

Report from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aka Doctors Without Borders

Project Update 

Dated Monday, 15 January 2024 - here is a copy in full:

Severe humanitarian needs after half a million people flee violence in Wad Madani

A displaced woman holds her child as she takes refuge in Alsafat Camp in Al Jazirah state. “I'm worried about the future of my children. I'm thinking about returning to Abyei so that I could provide an education for my children. But if the war comes to an end I'll return to Khartoum and my house as soon as possible, and my husband will be able to work,” she says. Sudan, December 2023. © FAIS ABUBAKR X

On 15 December, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched an attack on Wad Madani, Sudan, and took control of several other cities and areas in Al Jazirah state within days. Since then, more than half a million people have fled the fighting and insecurity, including about 234,000 displaced people who had previously sought refuge in Wad Madani as violence in Khartoum intensified.  

The chaos following the evolving conflict and the severe insecurity and widespread violence created an environment in which Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) could no longer operate in Wad Madani. 

As a result, we had to suspend all activities and evacuate our staff from Wad Madani on 19 December, leaving behind people with even less access to basic medical services. We also had to evacuate staff from Damazine, Um Rakuba in Gedaref state, and Doka. In Damazine, we reduced activities.

Our teams had been present in Wad Madani since May 2023. Conditions were already dire for the half a million displaced people living there, which made up 8 per cent of all internally displaced people in Sudan. Sudan was already home to the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, with more than six million people forced from their homes within the country in addition to more than 1.4  million who have fled across borders. 

Between May and November, our teams performed 18,390 medical consultations (40 per cent of them for children under 15 years old) in several of the hundreds of locations hosting displaced people across the state of Al Jazirah, some in schools or old public buildings.  

Through our mobile clinics, our teams diagnosed and referred 66 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with serious complications in the past six months – cases that could be fatal if not treated in a hospital urgently.

Sarah Deink holds her child as they take refuge in Alsafat Camp in Al Jazirah state. “I'm worried about the future of my children. I'm thinking about returning to Abyei so that I could provide an education for my children,” she says. Sudan, December 2023. FAIS ABUBAKR SHARE

“Health facilities were overwhelmed. As the number of people in the city had increased by 30 per cent, there were more and more patients, but considerable supply and staffing challenges,” says Slaymen Ammar, MSF medical coordinator for Sudan

“And as prices soared for all goods, access to lifesaving services was an obstacle for both displaced people and regular residents. Nowadays, with the departure of most international organisations – and despite efforts from local volunteer health workers – we can only assume it has worsened.” 

During the past month, in Gedaref and Kassala states – where we have been operational since 2021 in response to the Ethiopian Tigray crisis – MSF teams witnessed the arrival of thousands of people from Wad Madani, and are currently assessing and responding to the escalating health and humanitarian needs. 

In Tanideba (Gedaref), we have started a short-term emergency intervention for newly displaced Ethiopian refugees and newly displaced Sudanese citizens, covering basic healthcare, water and sanitation, as well as food rations. This included one-off distributions and donations. However, activities in Tanideba were temporarily reduced due to the escalation of conflict in Wad Madani.

AL BAKRI AL TAHER MALIK, A DISPLACED MAN FROM KHARTOUM, HAS BEEN INJURED TWICE BY THE FIGHTING IN SUDAN. 

“The war brought nothing but destruction and the separation of families. We lost our home, and we lost our city Khartoum. I lost my nephew. He died on the first day of Ramadan by a shell. He was divided into three parts.”

Al Bakri Al Taher Malik sits in a shelter for displaced people in Wad Madani, Al Jazirah state. He has been injured and displaced multiple times due to the conflict in Sudan. Sudan, December 2023. 

© FAIS ABUBAKR

The conflict in Sudan has caused immeasurable suffering, displaced millions, killed thousands, and injured countless others. For many displaced people, Gedaref and Kassala are just the latest stops in a long journey to seek safety, during which they have suffered violence and been without basic items, such as food, clean water, sanitation and access to medical care.  

“We are originally from Darfur, but because of the violent clashes and the crisis over there, we went to Khartoum. But the war followed us to Khartoum, so we went to Wad Madani. And then, the story continues,” says Maha*, a displaced woman who arrived with her family in Tanideba camp two weeks ago from Wad Madani.

Maha and her family fled Khartoum eight months ago, after shelling hit their home and severely injured one of Maha’s children.  

“We were six people in the house, and at that time I was nine months pregnant. Our house was destroyed. I was hit on my arm, but my child got a much worse injury on his head,” says Maha. 

“We managed to take him to the hospital because he needed urgent lifesaving surgery. But as soon as he was discharged, we had to flee the city because of insecurity. We arrived to the camp in Wad Madani, and I delivered there,” she says.

MARRY MONGA AND HER CHILDREN WERE FORCED TO FLEE THEIR HOME IN KHARTOUM.

“My baby is one-month old, but he doesn't look it because I don't have any milk. When I think about the future, I want my children to receive an education. I don't want my children to go through what we went through.”

Marry Monga sits with her one-month-old baby in Alsafat Camp in Al Jazirah state. She fled Khartoum on 15 May due to violence and insecurity there. Sudan, 12 December 2023. © FAIS ABUBAKR

In mid-December, Maha and her family fled once again to Tanideba.

“Clashes started and we began hearing sounds of fires and armed men fighting again. We decided to leave immediately. I started thinking about where we should go. Nowhere was safe at that time.” 

In a region where healthcare and essential medicine were already extremely limited, displaced people are now suffering from growing health demands, stemming from direct and indirect effects of violence. Basic needs are not being met and an urgent response is desperately needed.  

“At the gathering sites in Kassala city, people who have been displaced told our teams they haven’t received any assistance since their arrival in mid to late December,” says Pauline Lenglart, MSF emergency project coordinator in Sudan.  

“Families are sleeping on the ground, access to healthcare is still severely restricted, there are few working medical facilities and medicines aren't provided for free,” says Lenglart. 

“Many people have told us that they are unable to afford items like food and medicine, forcing them to choose between these necessities. Our team is constantly evaluating the needs at new sites that are opening to house recently displaced people. 

“In all these places, we see that the amount of humanitarian assistance provided is still woefully inadequate to meet people’s basic needs and ensure dignified living conditions,” says Lenglart. 

*Name changed to protect identity. 

View original, explore accessibility options: https://www.msf.org/sudan-severe-humanitarian-needs-after-half-million-people-flee-violence-wad-madani 

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