The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) is deeply concerned about the escalation of hostilities, combined with large-scale population displacement, and poor humanitarian access which has resulted in the death of several Sudanese citizens. ACJPS has documented incidents where 20 people including children have succumbed to malnutrition and untreated chronic illnesses in Kalma camp in South Darfur. ACJPS calls upon the warring parties to honor the Jeddah agreement and open humanitarian corridors allowing aid/relief to cross conflict lines and assurances of safe passage for both aid and commercial trade flows as critical to preventing deepening hunger in Sudan.
Mr. Adam (not real name) aged 50 years, an engineer working for the local government in Nyala, South Darfur State with so much pain narrated to ACJPS that “On 15 April 2023, when the armed conflict broke out in Sudan between RSF and SAF, our neighborhood Sika Hadid also known as the Railway neighborhood in Nyala turned into a battleground with gun exchange between the warring parties and allied militia causing residents/civilians to flee to fairly safer areas which were also constantly targeted with aerial bombings. On 4 August 2023, my family and I decided to flee and join those civilians in Kalma IDP camp which is located approximately 10 kilometers southeast of our neighborhood. When we got there, the IDP community welcomed us and one particular family asked us to join in their shelters and shared their food with us despite the scarcity of food. The dire situation and scarcity were escalated by the war which has hindered access to humanitarian assistance and access to supplies outside the camp. My 9-year-old daughter died as a result of malnutrition”
“At least six people aged between 40 to 60-years-old have succumbed to diabetes and high blood pressure as a result of lack of medicine in Kalma camp. The situation at the camp worsened after the outbreak of the war in Sudan leading to an increase of IDPs in the camp from war-torn areas that is; approximately 200,000 families from Nyala and 137,000 families from Murine IDP camp located in West Darfur joined the camp. These overwhelming numbers exerted a lot of pressure on the already struggling health facilities within the camp. There are currently two functional health centers at the camp which only provide laboratory services and cannot provide medicine as they are out of stock” Mr. Yagoup Feri, the general coordinator of the IDP camps and refugees in Darfur commented
Mr. Isaq, the chairperson of Kalma camp warned of an outbreak of diseases in the camp due to the lack of food and medicine as many humanitarian organizations suspended their operations following the outbreak of armed conflict. “Many IDPs will continue to succumb to preventable diseases unless the Humanitarian organizations intervene…,". He added that “at least 14 children have succumbed to malnutrition; five died in December 2023 while the other nine deaths were registered in the beginning of 2024. The deceased rage between the ages of 3 to 9 years. Additionally, in December 202,3 at least 93 cases of malnutrition and 211 cases of malaria were registered and the patients were all children…,”
Other developments
A bag of millet currently retails for 57,000 Sudanese Pounds (amounting to approximately 50 US Dollars) which is too expensive for the IDPs as they are unable to move out for work and make money because of the ongoing insecurity because they are continuously targeted.
On 5 February 2024, Mr. Adam Rejal, the spokesperson of the IDPs in Darfur and Refugees coordinator urgently appealed to the regional and international communities to intervene amidst the worrying situation of the IDPs in the Darfur region especially the humanitarian disaster particularly the scarcity and lack of basic needs such as food, water, medicine and shelter.
On 9 February 2024, the Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Movement led by Mr. Abdul Wahid Noor also issued an urgent appeal to the UN agencies and international communities requesting their kind intervention and response to the humanitarian situation of the civilians in Jabil Marra located in Central Darfur Region and other areas within their control. SPLM/AN currently controls more SAF bases following the withdrawal of SAF troops.
Background
The ongoing armed conflict and insecurity in Sudan have resulted in high numbers of civilian casualties, extensive damage to critical infrastructure and facilities as well as large-scale displacement, with over 7.4 million people having fled their homes and taken refuge inside and outside Sudan adding to the already existing 3.8 million internally displaced persons, from previous internal conflict. While the conflict escalates, humanitarian access has become more limited at the expense of the Sudanese people. More than half of the Sudanese population faces food insecurity and the already fragile health sector is in taters with looming disease outbreaks, including an alarming cholera outbreak, as well as dengue fever, measles, malaria, and malnutrition.