“Like planning for the apocalypse,” This is how humanitarian relief workers in Sudan describe the situation as the conflict widens, supply lines are disrupted, and civilians are displaced internally and externally, spending several days without food.
Since the fighting broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, a series of intertwined conflicts have erupted throughout the country. This has led to the displacement of at least 5.2 million people.
In addition to their armed conflict, centered in the capital Khartoum, sectarian violence has erupted again in the Darfur region, where Sudanese Arab groups targeted the Masalit community.
A relief official, requesting anonymity, was quoted by The Guardian, stating, “We’re essentially witnessing two separate conflicts. The first, which is getting a lot of attention, is between Burhan and Hemedti in Khartoum. The second, which is much more sinister, is what is happening in Darfur.”
The axis of violence afflicting West Darfur State revolves around competition for land, water, and other scarce resources between non-Arab agricultural communities and Arab nomadic herders.
The United Nations states that over 60% of the population of West Darfur suffered from food insecurity even before the recent outbreaks of violence.
Waves of ethnic conflicts have erupted in recent years, but none have been as prolonged and systematic as what occurred in West Darfur from April to mid-June. The United Nations reports that since 2019, hundreds of non-Arab residents in the region have been killed in attacks.
Tibor Nagy, former Assistant Secretary for African Affairs in the U.S. State Department during the Trump administration, pointed out in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine last week that Sudanese people are caught between militia conflicts and harsh humanitarian conditions, stating, “There are more and more militias getting involved. The humanitarian dimension will also get worse. Pick your calamity.”