“People repeatedly told me that while fleeing from Zamzam displacement camp, armed individuals threatened them during their escape, saying, ‘Flee, go to that place, run here, run there, we will follow you, we will find you,’” said Jocelyn Elizabeth Knight, a Protection Officer for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
In a briefing in Geneva, Ms. Knight spoke about meeting a traumatized child at a UNHCR shelter, whose story is similar to many other children across the country. “A small boy told me, ‘You know, during the day things are okay here, but I’m afraid to sleep at night in case our place is attacked again.’”
In Darfur, western Sudan, many displaced by violence are assembling in abandoned public buildings with limited access to water and sanitation. New displacements and attacks on civilians continue in Darfur and neighboring Kordofan, UNHCR warned, affecting already devastated communities. Ongoing conflict has severely limited humanitarian access and disrupted aid for over two years. With seasonal rains, many roads will be impassable for months, further complicating aid delivery. Insecurity has hindered farming, increasing the risk of famine in vulnerable areas.
The latest UNHCR data shows that more than 873,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad, which now hosts the largest number of registered Sudanese refugees since the conflict began. One in three people in eastern Chad is now a refugee.
Along with the heavy fighting between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), civilians face a rapidly spreading cholera outbreak. “Cholera has swept across Sudan with all states reporting outbreaks,” said Dr. Ilham Nour from WHO, noting that since last July, nearly 100,000 cases have been reported.
The contagious disease spreads swiftly in unsanitary conditions. As of early August, 264 cases and 12 deaths were reported at Dougui refugee settlement in eastern Chad, hosting arrivals from Darfur. Surrounding villages have also reported suspected cases. Help to contain the disease is urgent, insisted UNHCR’s Dossou Patrice Ahouansou, calling for urgent action including medical treatment access, clean water, sanitation, hygiene, and relocation from the border to save lives. The UN agency has paused refugee relocations from border points and seeks $130 million in funding to aid 800,000 people in Darfur, responding to the cholera outbreak and relocating 239,000 Sudanese refugees from the Chad-Sudan border.
UNMAS confirmed fears of unexploded ordnance from ongoing battles killing and injuring unaware non-combatants. “The sad reality of this conflict is that it’s occurring mainly in urban areas, in highly populated areas,” said Mohammad Sediq Rashid, Chief of UNMAS Sudan. Six minefields were confirmed in Khartoum, three containing anti-personnel landmines. “Contamination is on roads, in homes, schools, airstrips, medical facilities, humanitarian bases.”
OCHA’s Director Edem Wosornu, said the international community must keep the spotlight on Sudan for funding and advocacy. After visiting Khartoum, she described it as a decimated city, once vibrant but now almost uninhabitable. “I have never seen anything like this before in my almost quarter-of-a-century service to the United Nations.”
With only 23 per cent of the humanitarian plan for Sudan funded, Ms. Wosornu emphasized that OCHA is asking for only 55 cents per person per day. “Where we have access, safety, security, supplies, and funding, we can assist,” she stated. The only real solution is lasting peace, and OCHA continues negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces and the internationally recognized Sudanese military Government. “We need this humanitarian pause desperately. The people are asking for an end to the war that has killed, maimed, and caused significant destruction of life and livelihood.”
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