Mass killings and millions forced to flee for their lives have made Sudan the “epicentre of suffering in the world”, according to the UN’s humanitarian affairs chief.
About 12 million people are believed to have been displaced and at least 40,000 killed in the civil war – but aid groups say the true death toll could be far greater.
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told Sky’s The World With Yalda Hakim the situation was “horrifying”.
“It’s utterly grim right now – it’s the epicentre of suffering in the world,” he said of Sudan.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – who were once allies – started in Khartoum in April 2023 but has spread across the country.
The fighting has inflicted almost unimaginable misery on a nation that was already suffering a humanitarian crisis.
Famine has been declared in some areas and Mr Fletcher said there was a “sense of rampant brutality and impunity” in the east African nation.
“I spoke to so many people who told me stories of mass executions, mass rape, sexual violence being weaponised as part of the conflict,” he said.
The fall of a key city
Last month, the RSF captured Al Fashir – the capital of North Darfur state – after a siege of more than 18 months.
Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands forced to flee, according to the UN and aid groups.
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The World Health Organisation said more than 450 people alone were reportedly killed at a maternity hospital in the city.
RSF fighters also went house to house to murder civilians and carried out sexual assault and rape, according to aid workers and displaced people.
The journey to escape Al Fashir goes through areas with no access to food, water or medical help – and Mr Fletcher said people had described to him the “horrors” of trying to make it out.
“One woman [was] carrying her dead neighbour’s malnourished child – and then she herself was attacked on the road as she fled towards Tawila,” he told Sky News.
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Such is the violence in Al Fashir, blood from mass killings appears to stain the sand in satellite images from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, Mr Fletcher added.
“We’ve got to make sure there are teams going in to investigate these atrocities. Al Fashir is a crime scene right now,” he said.
“But we’ve also got to make sure we’ve got protection for civilians from the future atrocities.”
Children at the forefront of suffering
Mr Fletcher told Yalda Hakim that children had “borne the brunt” and made up one in five of those killed in Al Fashir.
He said a child he met “recoiled from me” and “flinched” when he gestured towards a Manchester City logo on his shirt when they were kicking a ball around.
“This is a six-year-old, so what has he seen and experienced to be that terrified of other people?” he asked.
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He’s urging the international community to boost funding to help civilians, and a “much more vigorous, energised diplomacy” to try to end the fighting.
“This can’t be so complex, so difficult, that the world can’t fix it,” he told Sky News.
“And we’ve seen some momentum. We’ve seen the quad – Egypt, America, Saudi, the UAE just recently – getting more engaged.
“I’m in daily contact with them all, including the White House envoy, Dr Massad Boulos, but we need to sustain that diplomatic engagement and show the creativity and patience that’s needed.”
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Hopes of an imminent end to the violence currently look unlikely.
Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, said on Friday that his forces would not stop until the RSF is wiped out.
“This war will not come to an end with a truce, but when rebels are destroyed,” he said – according to a statement from Sudan’s ruling council.
“We call on all Sudanese to join the fight, and for those who can carry weapons to come forward.”
The RSF and the Sudanese army have previously agreed to various ceasefire proposals during their two-and-a-half-year-old war, but none have succeeded.
