United Nations Humanitarian Chief Reports 9,000 Deaths in Half-Year of Sudan Conflict

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The six-month long conflict involving Sudan’s military forces and a potent paramilitary unit has resulted in as many as 9,000 fatalities, leading to “one of the most severe humanitarian crises in modern times,” stated the United Nations’ chief of humanitarian affairs on Sunday.

The turmoil in Sudan was ignited in mid-April, when longstanding discord between the leader of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, erupted into overt hostilities.

U.N. Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, in a statement commemorating the half-year mark of the ongoing conflict, said, “For the past six months, the civilian population has been incessantly subjected to violence and horror.” He added, “Alarming accounts of sexual violence and rape persist.”

Originally concentrated in the capital, Khartoum, the violent confrontations soon proliferated to various other regions throughout the East African country, including the already war-torn area of western Darfur.

Griffiths noted that the conflict has reportedly resulted in up to 9,000 deaths and led to the mass displacement of millions, either to more secure locations within Sudan or to adjacent countries. He further stated that the conflict has led to “fragmented communities, vulnerable individuals cut off from essential humanitarian assistance, and escalating humanitarian needs in neighboring countries receiving the influx of millions.”

According to data from the U.N. migration agency, the conflict has displaced over 4.5 million people within Sudan, while an additional 1.2 million have sought sanctuary in adjacent countries. Furthermore, Griffiths disclosed that the fighting has left 25 million people, constituting more than half of Sudan’s total population, in dire need of humanitarian relief.

Compounding the humanitarian disaster, a cholera outbreak has been reported in both the capital and other regions within the country. Griffiths noted that over 1,000 suspected cholera cases have been identified in Khartoum, as well as in the provinces of Kordofan and Qadarif.

Since the war’s onset, the Greater Khartoum region—encompassing the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North—has devolved into a war zone, witnessing aerial bombardments and artillery attacks in areas with dense civilian populations.

Reports indicate the occurrence of rape and gang rape primarily in Khartoum and Darfur, largely attributed to the Rapid Support Forces. The RSF, along with associated Arab militias, have been accused by the U.N. and global human rights organizations of committing atrocities in Darfur, a region previously subject to a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s.

In response to the recent heinous acts in Darfur, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced in July that an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in relation to the current conflict in the region is underway.

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More about Sudan Conflict

• United Nations Official Statement on Sudan Conflict
• Data on Displacement by the U.N. Migration Agency
• International Criminal Court’s Announcement on Darfur Investigation
• Reports on Sexual Violence in Sudan
• Overview of the Humanitarian Crisis by Global Human Rights Organizations
• Latest Updates on Cholera Outbreak in Sudan