Sudan marks two years of war with no end in sight

Supporters of the Sudanese armed popular resistance, which backs the army, ride on trucks in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on March 3, 2024. [AFP] Sudan on Tuesday marked two years of a war that has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and triggered the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with no signs of peace. Fighting erupted on April 15, 2023 between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Khartoum quickly became a battleground. Bodies lined the streets. Hundreds of thousands fled. Those left behind struggled to survive. "I've lost half my bodyweight," said 52-year-old Abdel Rafi Hussein, who lived under RSF control in the capital until the army retook it last month. "We're safe (now), but still, we suffer from a lack of water and electricity and most hospitals aren't working." The army's recapture of Khartoum marked a turnaround after more than a year of setbacks. Many civilians celebrated what they called the "liberation" from the RSF, which stands accused of genocide, looting and sexual violence. But the RSF is pushing deeper into famine-hit Darfur, aiming to seize El-Fasher -- the last state capital in the vast western region still under army control. Catastrophic consequences In London on Tuesday, international officials were meeting to "agree a pathway to end the suffering", said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. But neither warring side was attending. "Instability must not spread -- it drives migration from Sudan and the wider region, and a safe and stable Sudan is vital for our national security," said Lammy. UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said Sudan had faced "indifference from the outside world". "The Sudanese are besieged on all sides -- war, widespread abuses, indignity, hunger and other hardships," he said, warning that "continuing to look away will have catastrophic consequences". On the eve of the anniversary, UN chief Antonio Guterres said civilians "continue to bear the brunt" of the war. Exact death tolls are unknown due to the collapse of the health system, but former US envoy Tom Perriello cited estimates of up to 150,000 dead. Both sides have been accused of targeting civilians, shelling homes and blocking aid. Some 25 million people face acute food insecurity, and eight million are on the brink of famine. Flow of weapons The United Nations says 2,776 children were killed or maimed in 2023 and 2024 -- up from 150 in 2022 -- and the real toll is likely higher. The war has "shattered the lives of millions of children across Sudan," said Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF. Zamzam displacement camp in Darfur, sheltering to up to a million people, has suffered famine since last year and was hit again last week, with at least 400 killed in an RSF assault, according to the United Nations. El-Fasher is the only Darfur state capital the RSF has not taken. Control of it would cement its grip on the vast western region. Experts say the RSF is now focused on securing border zones and supply lines, deepening Sudan's the de facto partition. The army controls the north and east. The RSF holds nearly all of Darfur and, with its allies, parts of the south. On Monday, Guterres called for an end to "the external support and flow of weapons" fuelling the war. "Those with greatest influence on the parties must use it to better the lives of people in Sudan -- not to perpetuate this disaster," he said, without naming any countries. Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the paramilitary forces with arms shipments. Those fighters and the Gulf state deny the charges.

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