‘Oxygen is running out’: Doctors call on UK to get aid into Sudan saying medics are losing hope

People gather to get water using a generator due to a power cut as clashes between Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army continue, in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 12, 2023. Reuters/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Report from i news

By Sally Guyoncourt

Dated Wednesday 17 May 2023 11:31 am; Updated 3:01 pm

‘Oxygen is running out’: Doctors call on UK to get aid into Sudan saying medics are losing hope

Medics have called on the UK for more help with supplies in Sudan, saying oxygen and blood are running out

Sudan’s doctors have called on the UK to send urgent medical aid to their country, saying oxygen and blood are running out, medics are “exhausted and depressed” and decomposing bodies are piling up on the streets of Khartoum.

They say that a shortage of medical supplies and equipment is putting thousands of lives at risk, and that it needs to go “the last mile” to reach those who need it most.

Dr Ahmed Elleithi, president of the Sudan Doctors’ Union in the UK (SDU-UK), told i: “For every person killed by a bullet there are 100 people killed from chronic and acute disease.

“We have to keep our people alive, we need medical equipment, food, basic medical supplies.

“We need UK government aid to reach the people who need it most. It’s no good leaving it at the port – it must reach the last mile. We need a safe corridor to reach people.”

For patients with long-term healthcare issues such as cancer and kidney problems, receiving essential treatment has become increasingly difficult.

Dr Elleithi said: “All of this has come to a standstill, more than 5,000 people don’t have access to cancer treatment.”

Those needing regular kidney dialysis or awaiting a kidney transplant are missing out on regular treatment. “All of these people are in risk of death,” he said.

The plea comes as fighting intensifies in Sudan and the healthcare situation on the ground deteriorates rapidly.

An abandoned hospital in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, as fighting continues in Sudan (Photo:AFP/Getty)

Khartoum has been pummelled by airstrikes and artillery fire, according to witnesses, and there has been shelling in neighbouring cities of Bahri and Omdurman.

The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered unrest elsewhere in Sudan, especially in the western region of Darfur, but remains concentrated in the capital Khartoum.

Speaking at a SDU-UK press conference on Tuesday evening, Dr Ahmed Abbas said “street fighting is taking place on most of the streets in Khartoum”.

The spokesperson for the Sudan Doctors’ Union, who recently returned to the UK after working in Sudan, said around 60 out of the 86 hospitals in Khartoum and the surrounding area were no longer functioning and those remaining were only taking emergency cases.

They were, he said, struggling to maintain any kind of service with both electricity and water supplies regularly cut off.

He told how one emergency operation had to be conducted using only the light from mobile phones. 

“Oxygen, blood, IV supplies are in short supply and running out,” he said. “Doctors are working round the clock.

“They are exhausted, drained, fatigued and depressed and unfortunately they cannot be replaced.”

And they are risking their lives each time they go to work on “roads which are hazardous and dangerous”, he added.

He said the latest death toll was 822 with another 6,000 severely injured since the conflict began last month.

He said there was also a public health risk from the fact that “more dead bodies are piling up on the streets of Khartoum, some corpses are decomposing… attracting numbers of animals and insects, which is a major problem”.

A raid on the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum by fighters, which is now occupied by armed forces, also poses a health risk to residents.

“There are some very rare specimens, some vaccines and some viruses which are used for teaching and research [in there],” said Dr Abbas, “if these are not kept safe there is a risk to the area of Khartoum.”

While healthcare services are severely disrupted by the conflict, Dr Abbas said there had also been verbal threats from a senior doctor in the Sudanese military to doctors who are treating those on both sides of the conflict.

“The threats against the doctors has to be condemned,” he said.

Concerns were also raised by the union about the working relationship between doctors on the ground in Sudan and the nation’s ministry of health, particularly around safe passage of healthcare staff and patients for treatment.

Dr Abbas said: “Sadly, there is no collaboration or co-operation with the ministry of health.”

But Sudan’s acting minister of health, Dr Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, said he “acknowledged the reality” for healthcare workers in Sudan adding that “we would like to work together”.

A doctor points at the damage outside the East Nile Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan (Photo: RSF/Reuters)

The United Nations humanitarian response plan has called for $2.56bn to help people affected by the crisis in Sudan while the UN refugee agency is seeking more $472m to assist more than one million people over the next six months.

Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and director of the co-ordination division, said: “Today, 25 million people, more than half the population of Sudan, need humanitarian aid and protection.

“This is the highest number we have ever seen in the country.

“The funding requirements of nearly $2.6bn is also the highest for any humanitarian appeal for Sudan.”

The UK Government announced at the start of May an initial £5m of aid to Sudan offering items such as food, shelter, medical care and clean water.

But Andrew Mitchell, international development minister, acknowledged at the time “while this aid will help alleviate some of the immediate suffering in the region, the ongoing violence is creating huge additional needs”.

He said the UK was continuing “to pursue all diplomatic avenues to end the violence, de-escalate tensions and secure safe humanitarian access” adding “there can be no aid without safe access and a ceasefire which is permanent.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been approached by i regarding new UK aid commitments to Sudan.

View original: https://inews.co.uk/news/world/oxygen-doctors-uk-aid-sudan-medics-losing-hope-2345974?ico=related_stories

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Witnesses recount gunmen raid Khartoum church

Report from Reuters

By Maggie Michael

Editing by Aidan Lewis and Daniel Wallis

Dated Thursday 18 May 2023, 11:35 PM GMT+1 - full copy:

Witnesses recount gunmen's raid on church in Sudan's capital

CAIRO, May 18 (Reuters) - Over four terrifying hours last weekend, masked gunmen affiliated to one of Sudan's warring factions raided one of Khartoum's oldest churches, opening fire at church officials as they searched for cash, gold and women, two witnesses said.

The raid was one of many targeting homes, factories, banks and places of worship that residents have often blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been battling the army across greater Khartoum over the past month.

RSF fighters have spread out through many residential areas as the army has targeted them with air strikes and heavy artillery. Police have disappeared from the streets, leaving locals at the mercy of armed fighters and gangs.

The RSF, which denied responsibility for the raid on the Mar Girgis (St. George) Coptic church, has said in statements its troops are working to protect civilians, and that those committing abuses are criminals who have stolen RSF uniforms.

The attack at the church in the Masalma neighbourhood of Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, began shortly before midnight on May 13.

The witnesses described the attackers as in their late 20s, with at least one non-Arabic speaker. They wore scarves across their faces leaving only their eyes uncovered, and mismatched clothing including some items of RSF uniform, the witnesses told Reuters by phone.

The gunmen sprayed bullets at a priest, nuns, and sextons, wounding five of them, said the two witnesses, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

"They shouted, 'Where is the gold? Where is the money? Where are the dollars?'" one witness said. They also insulted the church leaders and workers saying, "You are Egyptians, sons of dogs", calling them infidels, and telling them to convert to Islam.

Just over 5% of Sudan's 46 million population is estimated to be Christian, split into 36 denominations, according to data from the Pew Research Centre and the Sudan Council of Churches.

Sudan's Coptic church is part of the Egyptian Coptic church headquartered in Cairo.

PRIEST THREATENED WITH DAGGER

During the attack, the assailants led the priest to his house at gunpoint and menaced him with a dagger, before seizing a safe that held gold and cash and stealing a car, the witnesses said.

They also vandalised the church offices and a sanctuary for Bishop Sarabamon, the top Coptic Church leader in Sudan, who was present during the attack and beaten with a chair and sticks but not recognised by the gunmen.

The church had an annex with elders and orphan girls, some of whom were hidden as the attack was unfolding.

The warring parties blamed each other for the attack. The army accused the RSF, while the RSF said in a statement that an "extremist" group affiliated with the army was responsible.

On Tuesday an Anglican church in Al Amarat district in Khartoum, which has seen heavy fighting, said it had been raided and "occupied" by RSF forces who stole a car and broke the doors of the church offices.

"We don't know what happened to the rest of the church's possessions," Ezekiel Kondo, archbishop of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Sudan, said in a statement on Facebook.

RSF fighters have also entered the Coptic church of the Virgin Mary in Khartoum, forcing staff to leave, according to a church employee familiar with the incident and social media posts by activists.

The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Anglican and Virgin Mary churches.

On Thursday, the same gunmen who attacked Mar Girgis returned to raid the apartments used by its priests, according to one of the witnesses who shared photos showing smashed doors, a broken safe, and scattered clothes and personal belongings.

Despite the repeated raids, the witness said he believed what happened was due to the general turmoil engulfing Sudan, not driven by sectarianism.

"I don't believe they are targeting the Christians as much as it's all chaos, chaos, chaos," he said. "They stormed houses of the Muslims as well. They are looting and stealing."

PHOTO Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

View original: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/witnesses-recount-gunmens-raid-church-sudans-capital-2023-05-18/

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Sudan: University archives destroyed in Omdurman

THIS is very sad. Not only are Sudanese people killing each other they're now destroying their history. They've wasted 70 years of independence.

Sudan combines the lands of several ancient kingdoms (Wikipedia)

Report from MENA

By Austin Cooper

Dated Wednesday 17 May 2023

Precious Sudanese university archives destroyed by fire and looting in Omdurman

Some witnesses believe the damage done to Sudan's universities across the country is more than mere random attacks.

The archives lost have been described as "part of our history as a country" [Getty File Image]

Precious archives containing thousands of documents have been destroyed in a fire set by looters this week at Omdurman Ahlia University, once known as the 'Liberated Lands' for its tradition of independent thought and free academia. 

The Muhammad Omar Bashir Centre for Sudanese Studies at Ahlia University was first struck by looting in the first days of the armed conflict between warring generals Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

"I worked all my life in the centre, serving as an archivist and researcher for the university," said university staff member Abdelgadir Ismail Ahmed. 

Now the collection of historical works, primary sources and doctoral theses has been destroyed.

I am so angry. About ten years ago, we donated a huge library belonging to my late great grandfather to Mohamed Omer Bashir center for Sudanese studies at Omdurman Ahlia University. The center even organized a little celebration for my family. Now everything is gone! pic.twitter.com/yBMJyGvMnn

— Reem -ريم (@ReemWrites) May 16, 2023

"The centre had books and papers by eminent Sudanese scholars who have since passed, available to the researchers of today," he continued. 

"Much of the archives that we lost are completely irreplaceable." 

The Ahlia university was, according Sudanese writer Reem Abbas, particularly dear to residents of Omdurman because it was established and constructed through grassroots funding and popular support. 

“Citizens chipped in, to build a university which was known as the ‘liberated lands’ during the rule of Omar al-Bashir,” said Abbas. 

“Ahlia was a beacon of independent intellectual thought, constantly under pressure. They employed professors who were free thinkers, unable to get jobs at other universities where the government held control,” she told The New Arab. 

“My family donated over 5,000 books from the collection of my grandfather to the centre. What we have lost is part of our history as a country.”

A pattern of looting has emerged across the country, which some Sudanese believe is part of an orchestrated attempt to destroy what remains of the state’s fragile infrastructure.

For the 6th day in a row: Souq Omdurman continues to burn#KeepEyesOnSudan https://t.co/tK1uq375iE

— Mohamed Mustafa - محمد مصطفى جامع (@Moh_Gamea) May 17, 2023

Other universities, libraries and research centres have been looted in the fighting. 

“It is not a coincidence that these centres of learning and Sudanese knowledge have been targeted,” Abbas said. 

“This feels like an attempt to cripple the country’s economy, and destroy what is left of the infrastructure we have in Sudan.” 

RELATED

Sudan's ancient kingdoms are being plundered for profit

Culture

Sara Taj al-Sir

View original: https://www.newarab.com/news/sudanese-archives-destroyed-fire-and-looting-omdurman

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S.O.S. please help the animals in Sudan and Sara Abdalla, director of zoo at Khartoum University

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Well done Samy for reporting on animals in need. I hope the report is followed up on with news of how the animals in Khartoum are surviving. Are they being cared for? Does anyone care?  

At the start of the Sudan crisis I donated to the British Red Cross to help the people of Sudan and South Sudan. I wish Red Cross could help animals too.

Report from Chronograph.com

By SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press

Wednesday 10 May 2023

Updated: May 10, 2023 4:06 a.m.

Fears over scores of zoo animals caught in Sudan crossfire

ASWAN, Egypt (AP) — Dozens of zoo animals in Sudan's capital — including an elderly crocodile, parrots and giant lizards — are feared dead after street battles between the country's rival forces made the location unreachable.

At least 100 animals, all kept inside enclosures, will have gone more than three weeks without food or water, said Sara Abdalla, the head zoologist at the zoo, which is part of the Sudan Natural History Museum.

Millions of people in Sudan have endured shortages of food, water and medicines after the conflict halted the most basic services. But as the sounds of explosions ring across the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, Abdalla has been wracked with worry over her animal charges, particularly those that are increasingly rare to find in their natural habitats in Sudan. 

“I feel a great deal of misery and sadness, as well as helplessness,” she said in a telephone interview from Khartoum. “I have assumed that we lost the birds and mammals.”

The zoo is home to species including an African grey parrot, a vervet monkey, giant lizards known as Nile monitors, a desert tortoise, a horned viper snake and a Nubian spitting cobra. Prior to the fighting, these were all fed twice a day. But the last time they received their meals and for some, medications, was on April 14, the day before fighting broke out, according to Abdalla.

The conflict, which capped months of tensions between Sudan’s rival generals, pits the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who is the head of the ruling sovereign council, against the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The RSF is commanded by Burhan’s deputy on the council, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Abdalla said neither has heeded appeals to allow access to the zoo.

The conflict has turned much of Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman into a battlefield, with both sides using heavy weapons, including artillery and airstrikes, inside urban areas. The urban combat has badly damaged infrastructure and properties and poses great risk to civilians trying to move in the city streets.

Residents fleeing the capital have described seeing bodies littering sidewalks and central squares, particularly in areas not far from the museum. Roughly 500 civilians have been killed in the fighting so far, according to Sudan's doctors' syndicate, though the true number of dead is believed to be higher.

The zoo, which is housed inside the University of Khartoum, is one of the oldest in Sudan. The facility was established about a century ago as part of Gordon Memorial College, an educational institution built in the early 1900s when Sudan was a part of the British empire. It was annexed to the University of Khartoum two years after Sudan won independence in 1956.

Its current location is close to the military’s headquarters, where fighting has been heavy, preventing access to the museum.

Abdalla, who teaches zoology at the University of Khartoum, began working at the museum in 2006, and was appointed director of the facility in 2020. It was a job she had dreamed of since she visited the museum as a child. Now, trapped at her home in southern Khartoum with her husband and their two children — 9-year-old Yara, and 4-year-old Mohamed — she worries about the animals that have already survived years of unrest, economic collapse and pandemic lockdowns.

Neither the military nor the RSF responded to requests for comment on the plight of the animals and their caretakers.

“Unless someone released the animals early on when the clashes started, I don’t see how any would or could have survived for over two weeks with no care,” said Kamal M. Ibrahim, a biology professor at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in an email. He is familiar with the museum and its work, having graduated from the University of Khartoum and spending a sabbatical there.

The museum documents the wildlife of Sudan and its neighbor South Sudan. The facility serves both scientists and the general public. It also contains hundreds of valuable preserved animal specimens, some of which are now extinct, according to Abdalla.

Both Ibrahim and Abdalla are particularly worried about a Nile crocodile, raised from an egg at the facility since 1971. Abdalla said the crocodile was on a regimen of medicine and vitamins due advanced age. The crocodiles are increasingly rare to find in the Blue and White Nile rivers that cut their way through the country.

“It could have fared better if released from its enclosure,” Ibrahim said.

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a vervet monkey is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a Nile crocodile is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The 50-year-old reptile was raised in captivity from an egg, and is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a Nubian spitting cobra is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a carpet viper is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a Nile monitor lizard is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP

View original: https://www.chron.com/news/world/article/fears-over-scores-of-zoo-animals-caught-in-sudan-18090097.php

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Sudan...The Animal Museum Cries For War. Importance of Sudan's Natural History Museum

THIS is so sad. Let's hope it's true that people are giving water to animals.

Report from EasternHerald.com 

By Arab Desk

Dated Friday 19 May 2023 - full copy:

Sudan.. The Animal Museum Cries For War

And the clashes, which have not ceased since April 15, have made it impossible to access the museum site, which includes no less than 100 animals, which were placed in their cages the day before the outbreak of the fighting.

The director of the Natural History Museum said in statements exclusive to Sky News Arabia that things are still unclear regarding the position of the animals inside the museum, before I receive unofficial reports that some members of the Sudanese army were providing water to the animals, which represents a breakthrough for repeated distress calls throughout the past few weeks.

Despite this breakthrough, the situation remains difficult for the animals of the Sudan Museum, while “Said” identified this case in several points:

- Animals face a difficult fate, and of course there are some who have died from these very complex conditions, depending on how long they were left unattended.

- I expect the death of many animals, mainly birds and mammals which cannot endure a month without monitoring, feeding or monitoring, and we cannot reach them yet, because the water supply of their cages is was doing at the start of the war, and we cannot set a timetable for the armed forces to respond to distress calls. It is more likely that she died of hunger and thirst.

- Some other animals can withstand these conditions as long as possible, these are reptiles like desert tortoises. Because they store water in their body.

- From a scientific point of view, birds cannot survive more than 5 consecutive days without food or water, especially in extreme temperatures that reach 46 degrees Celsius.

- The pets that some Sudanese used to keep at home are also in a difficult situation. Because many citizens have been displaced and left these animals behind.

- We cannot go to the headquarters of the zoo, because things are very complicated considering the location of the museum near the general command of the armed forces, which is a very dangerous area for the movement of civilians, who can be targeted by both sides of the conflict.

- I tried as much as possible to reach the museum, but I was in an area where the sounds of bullets had never been silenced, and I couldn’t; Therefore, no one has any information or assessment of the situation and the number of dead animals.

Importance of the Natural History Museum

- The Natural History Museum zoo is home to many species of animals including lion, African gray parrot, vervet monkey, giant lizards called Nile monitor lizards, desert tortoise, horned snake and nubian cobra.

- The site of the museum, which is close to the headquarters of the Sudanese army, where fighting was taking place there, prevented people from accessing it and rescuing the animals.

- The museum documents wildlife in Sudan as well as the state of South Sudan, and serves scientists, scholars and visitors.

- The museum contains hundreds of valuable preserved animal specimens, some of which are now extinct.

- The Sudanese fear the repercussions of the current crisis on the historical legacy of Sudan, which is difficult to compensate for in the light of the continuous clashes between the two parties to the conflict, with no hope of an immediate solution.

View original: https://www.easternherald.com/2023/05/19/sudan-the-animal-museum-cries-for-war/

Impunity enabled generals to recklessly destroy Sudan (Hala al-Karib)

HOW YEARS OF IMPUNITY gave Sudan’s generals licence to destroy Sudan. This powerful op-ed was published in May at SudanTribune.com

Written by HALA AL-KARIB 

@Halayalkarib https://twitter.com/Halayalkarib

Regional Director, Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA)

Impunity enabled generals to recklessly destroy Sudan

I haven’t looked at my face in the mirror since the morning of 15 April when Sudan got turned upside down by two generals battling for power, the culmination of decades of state failure, impunity, and the negligence of the international community.

I don’t know what I look like now. I don’t want to see myself. I don’t want to cry.

That Saturday morning was the turning point. Before then, life was about that next medical appointment, school exam, or job interview: the upcoming wedding, or baby’s naming ceremony, or funeral to attend; the savings plan, the friend to visit, the house or small room to build; the tuk tuk, motorbike, or car to buy.

But all that has vanished.

We woke up that Saturday to a new reality of killings, of bodies strewn on the streets, of artillery bombardment and burning buildings. We are now in a desperate period of fear, trauma, and – for those who can – exodus.

Khartoum is the capital of 45 million Sudanese. It’s also the home of at least 10 million of us – including more than two million refugees who came here for sanctuary. For Khartoum to be destroyed like this, by thugs and monsters, is shocking, and perplexing.

That Saturday it took me the whole day, scanning the news channels and communicating with friends and colleagues before my brain was able to recognise what was actually happening.

We had fallen into the hands of those with no mercy, without humanity.

The city was being torn apart by rival militaries: Those loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the armed forces chief, versus his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It is behaviour that the people of Darfur have witnessed for years – where the RSF and other militias have protected their power by subjecting the people to intimidation and oppression, and where al-Burhan and the Sudanese army have also been accused of coordinating attacks against civilians.

The collapse

I came to Khartoum in early April to see my mother, and to check on an unwell brother and visually impaired aunt. I wanted to give my siblings – who had been looking after them – a break.

I planned to work out of the Khartoum office of my organisation, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), an African feminist women’s rights network.

I had so much to do. I was planning a trip to Blue Nile and North Darfur to launch one of our new projects. We were pushing on with our work, almost oblivious to the abnormalities all around us.

As Sudanese, we were witnessing the collapse of the country, its decay, following the military’s seizure of power in October 2021 – bitterly protested by street-based pro-democracy groups.

There was the economic pain of an ever-accelerating cost of living, which means most people dependent on a daily income cannot afford the basics. Even the salaries of teachers, nurses, doctors, and government public servants have only been paid a few times since the coup – stranding them for months without an income.

The international community saw the way out of the crisis as a power-sharing deal between civilian politicians and the military.

The intention was to repeat the coalition formula agreed upon after the collapse of the Omar al-Bashir regime in 2019, an arrangement the military subsequently tore up two years later.

The UN, the African Union, and the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) were supposed to coordinate the political process leading to a new coalition government – but it was naïvely and ineptly managed.

Fundamentally, power-sharing doesn’t solve Sudan’s deep-rooted structural problems, when seats at the political table are reserved for the men in uniform responsible for the violence and injustice we’ve long been forced to live with.

Power-sharing covers up war crimes and crimes against humanity. It entrenches the military elite based on the assumption that – for the sake of peace – they can’t be touched. The result is the weakening of human rights and justice frameworks, and the legitimisation of the warlords, who are rewarded with access to resources and positions.

The 2020 Juba power-sharing agreement that followed the fall of al-Bashir was supposed to lead to free and fair elections. Instead, the generals have since been competing among themselves, mobilising their forces to achieve their corrupt ends.

That is the root of the violence we are confronted with today on the streets of Khartoum – and just as bloodily in Darfur and Kordofan – as the army and the RSF battle it out for supremacy.

Civilian politicians have also played a role. Sudanese people have been exhausted by the divisions and lack of leadership among the parties. As a result, politicians lost their connection to the people and failed to cultivate popular support.

 

Solidarity and courage

Even on the eve of the collapse, Sudanese were still trying to manage life as best as possible. I drove to a relative’s funeral around the Reyad area on Friday night and could still see people taking their kids out to purchase their Eid clothes for the end of Ramadan.

The main roads were dark, and street lights and traffic lights hardly working.

I remember thinking Khartoum reflected the impoverished soul of Sudan’s military clique. After seizing power, they had no idea how to run the country beyond plundering, and killing and violating its citizens.

That weekend, we had 14 guests staying with us: two project auditors from SIHA’s Uganda office, two Ugandan consultants, and 10 colleagues from Darfur taking part in a training programme.

On Saturday 16 April, three of our guests were at the airport, checked in and preparing to board their flight home, when the RSF began shelling. No one was allowed in or out of the airport for hours.

As we tried to figure out what to do, one by one their phone batteries died. They had to use the phones of other passengers, who pleaded for us to take them too if we came to collect our colleagues.

Then, in the afternoon, the RSF began ordering everyone to leave the airport, and hundreds of passengers were ushered out onto the main road.

I cannot be grateful enough to Adla from our Khartoum office, and her husband. They jumped into their old car and drove through the back streets to the airport. They picked up, thank God, our friends and managed to find lodgings for them.

When the hotel they stayed in ran out of food and water, Neimat – another SIHA colleague – and her husband managed to keep them fed. After four days, we were finally able to evacuate them home to Uganda via South Sudan.

Meanwhile, our friends from Darfur were struck at a hotel on Africa Road. It was among the first targeted by the RSF, who broke in and took the safe and then robbed the residents of their money and phones.

Coming from Darfur, our colleagues understand how the RSF operates – what triggers them, and how to negotiate. It took days, but they finally managed to leave the hotel on foot, although without their belongings.

When we spoke later, they told me how the RSF soldiers had made daily demands for money, terrifying the hotel guests by firing into the air.

It was the same story at the Acropole Hotel, where the last of our consultants from Uganda was staying. There was no power and water for the first three days, while the RSF ransacked every corner of the landmark hotel, again robbing guests and workers at will.

After days of being held, the hotel’s guests were dropped off at the grand mosque in the middle of Khartoum. Our colleague told a horrific story of picking his way through the dead bodies scattered on the streets.

Finally, he reached Omdurman, where he was picked up by Mayada, a SIHA staff member, and her husband. He stayed for two nights with Mayada before she managed to put him on a truck to South Sudan.

The courage, thoughtfulness, and endurance of our guests contributed to their safety in a situation where we couldn’t do much for them if it all had gone wrong.

 

Staying behind

SIHA has 32 staff in Sudan, the majority of us are scattered throughout rural Sudan, but many of us are also in Khartoum. Sudan is our home, and we are committed to staying, to care for our loved ones – we cannot abandon them.

So when the shelling and shooting started, I barricaded my family inside our house. The main gate was blocked with cars and piles of bricks. We closed up the windows and doors. Our bright open home became like a cave.

I was, however, obsessed with making sure that my girls – my daughter and two nieces – got out. Over the next few days, I sat with my sister and we thrashed out a plan. The girls are now safe outside the country.

As I write this article, three weeks after the violence began, I’m sitting beside my mother and aunt, somewhere safe and quiet near Khartoum.

My brother has just come in and said I look tired. Yes, I am. All I want to do is sleep and find space to think.

Looking at what has happened to my country, I can tell you that this violence is not random or a reaction to political tension. I believe this is a well-planned and well-funded vile act in support of the RSF.

The question is, how come all those high-powered bodies that were supposed to be coordinating the political process – the UN, the regional groupings, the international financial institutions, the donor governments – utterly failed to see it coming? What a shame!

In the meantime, I still don’t dare to look at myself in the mirror, and I don’t want to cry.

View original: https://sudantribune.com/article273883/

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SW Ed: The above op-ed by Hala al-Karib was published at The New Humanitarian 3 May 2023 entitled ‘How years of impunity gave Sudan’s generals licence to destroy my country’ - see copy here: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/first-person/2023/05/03/impunity-sudan-licence-to-destroy-my-country

Hala al-Karib

Regional Director, Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA)

Stringer/Reuters. People fleeing the fighting in Khartoum between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army on 28 April 2023.

Read more by Hala al-Karib: 

‘Sudan should not settle for anything other than true democracy’

https://sudantribune.com/article269336/

[Ends]

Galal Yousif: STOP killing the People of #SUDAN

THIS great piece of art by Galal Yousif from Sudan is a powerful image alongside its caption: STOP killing the People of #SUDAN.

STOP killing the People of #SUDAN
.
.#sudancoup #sudan_revolutiin #Sudanese #sudanwar #sudanrevolts #blueforsudan #nowayback #notomillitarycoup #art #eastfrica #artrevolt #sudan_uprising pic.twitter.com/QnHMWKMICA

— galal yousif (@galalgoly) May 18, 2023

IGAD: Burhan and Hemeti will be held accountable

Report from radiotamazuj.org

Dated Wednesday 17 May 2023 - full copy:

IGAD says belligerent Sudanese generals will be held accountable

IGAD’Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu (L) and South Sudanese Acting Foreign Minister Deng Dau (R) addressing the press in Juba. (Photo: Radio Tamazuj)

(JUBA CITY) - The regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), on Wednesday, warned that the warring rival generals superintending the fighting in Sudan will be held responsible for ensuring crimes.

Clashes erupted on 15 April in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other parts of the country between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) loyal to Gen. Abdel Fataah al-Burhan who is also the country’s de facto leader and his deputy in the sovereign council and leader of the Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as a result of a power struggle.

The warning follows talks in Juba between Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, IGAD’s Executive Secretary, and South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference at the Juba State House after the talks, Dr. Gebeyehu said the warring parties in Sudan will be held accountable.

“We are working with the International community, United Nations Security Council and African Union, and IGAD as a regional organization that clearly says that all parties are responsible for any atrocities which are going to happen in that country,” he said.

He said history will judge the leaders unless they stop the fighting.

“Also, we stress that they have the responsibility as a citizen of that country and as leaders of that country,” Dr. Gebeyehu said. “History will judge that tomorrow unless otherwise, they decided today to stop this thing. We are working in terms of accountability while we are pushing to bring these parties to the table of discussion.”

Meanwhile, South Sudan's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Deng Dayu Dend said IGAD is ready to position all the efforts of its member states to help Sudan end the conflict.

“IGAD is very focused on the issue of cessation of hostilities, on the issue of stopping the current situation in Khartoum and other places and IGAD is ready to position all the efforts of IGAD countries to help this member state,” he said. “This is why the IGAD’s executive secretary has to come personally to meet with His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit.”

In a virtual meeting held on April 16, the IGAD heads of state decided to send the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya, and Djibouti to Khartoum to engage the two belligerent leaders to resume talks about security and military reforms in Sudan.

View original: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/igad-says-belligerent-sudanese-generals-will-be-held-accountable

[Ends]

VIDEO: Atrocities as fighting rages in Darfur Sudan

Report by Channel 4 News

By Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor 

Dated Tuesday 16 May 2023

Sudan: reports of civilians atrocities as fighting rages

Fighting continues to rage between government troops and rebel militia forces in Sudan, despite efforts to impose a ceasefire.

And this programme has heard increasing reports of civilians being murdered and raped, along with large scale looting.

Rapid Support Forces fighters have claimed control of a key military base in the capital Khartoum – while in western Darfur, more civilians are being killed in the city of El Geneina, scene of some of the worst violence in the country.

View original: https://www.channel4.com/news/sudan-reports-of-civilians-atrocities-as-fighting-rages

Channel 4 is a British public broadcast service.

[Ends]

Tue 16 May 2023 Webinar on conflict in Sudan

Spread the word and join us for a webinar on the worsening conflict in #Sudan and its impact on the humanitarian crisis.

More: https://t.co/myFU18iRyF@just1nlynch @WBerri85 @ejhogendoorn @KholoodKhair @AbuMusaafarah @anette_hoffmann @WorldPeaceFdtn@FletcherSchool pic.twitter.com/qzwB1uEDzD

— Arab Organisation (@AohrUk) May 11, 2023

Webinar: Exacerbating Humanitarian Crisis Due to Military Conflict in Sudan

The Sudanese people are facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to the internal conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.

Given the current situation, human rights violations have spread in Sudan, including the killing and injury of many civilians, and the humanitarian crisis that citizens were already suffering from, including malnutrition, disease outbreaks and displacement, have exacerbated.

The current situation has worsened due to negative impacts of the conflict on the economic and social conditions of Sudan, which threatens the future for the Sudanese people.

In this context, Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK will be holding a webinar to shed light on the current situation in Sudan and to explore means to put an end to this conflict.

The webinar will bring together prominent experts, academics, activists, journalists and researchers to discuss practical solutions to protect the Sudanese people.

Speakers and Guests:

Ernst Jan Hogendoorn
Former Senior Advisor at U.S. Department of State

Dr Willow Berridge
Senior Lecturer in History- Newcastle University

Prof Alex DeWaal
Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation

Anette Hoffmann
Senior Research Fellow at the Conflict Research Unit of Clingendael

Justin Lynch
Researcher and co-author of the book Sudan’s unfinished democracy

Kholood Khair
Founding Director of Confluence Advisory

Musa Hamid
Member of Sudanese Journalists Syndicate

Moderator:
Roba Salibi
Postdoctoral Fellow at Oxford University

Date and time:
Tuesday 16th May 2023

At 17:00 GMT / 18:00 London timing/ 20:00 KSA/ 13:00 Washington DC timing

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88407958968?pwd=V3g0UmlxT1FkckR1NlZTQXYxUjhEZz09

Meeting ID: 884 0795 8968

Passcode: 197432

[Ends]

Peace doesn’t just happen. It cannot be wished or willed into existence, it has to be made and fought for

“Peace doesn’t just happen. It cannot be wished or willed into existence. It has to be made, it has to be fought for, it needs its own warriors” -Nicholas Haysom, the UN’s top envoy in South Sudan

Source: https://unmiss.unmissions.org/hope-blossoms-launch-joint-unmiss-and-government-south-sudan-peace-fellows-program