In Sudan, since fighting broke out between the army and militias, numerous warehouses with humanitarian aid supplies have been looted. Supplies in the country were running low, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Sunday. According to a UN spokesman, there are five World Health Organization (WHO) containers in the Port of Sudan. According to Griffiths, however, the helpers are waiting for the local authorities to release the charge.
“Most of our supplies are gone after massive looting of humanitarian organizations’ warehouses and offices,” Griffiths said ahead of a trip to the region. “We are urgently looking for ways to bring and distribute more material into the country.”
Occasional fights
The two parties to the conflict said they wanted to extend a three-day ceasefire, which was due to expire overnight, by 72 hours. Despite the agreed cease-fire, there were isolated fights. The parties to the conflict held each other responsible for this. The armed forces promised an extension of the ceasefire, which the United States and Saudi Arabia had sought. The paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said they were also in favor of the extension on humanitarian grounds.
With the organization’s first transport of aid since the fighting began two weeks ago, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has flown around eight tons of medical supplies from Jordan to Port Sudan. Among other things, anesthetics, bandages and surgical material were delivered. Thousands of people with gunshot wounds could be treated with this, the ICRC said. Another machine with relief supplies should follow soon. Health workers in Sudan have “done the impossible: cared for the injured without water, electricity and basic medical supplies,” said ICRC Africa director Patrick Youssef.
At times, the ceasefire almost brought a certain normality back to parts of the embattled capital Khartoum over the weekend. Eyewitnesses reported that the police were patrolling the streets again – among other things to prevent looting. Only a few shots were heard. However, there were reports of sporadic fighting from some parts of the city.
Battle of two generals
In the northeast African country with around 46 million inhabitants, the armed forces led by de facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan have been fighting the militias of his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the RSF, since April 15. The two generals once took over the leadership of Sudan through joint military coups. However, there was a rift between the two camps over issues of power distribution.
According to the Sudanese Medical Committee, many hospitals are no longer functional as a result of the fighting. In addition, there is a lack of medicines, medical goods and blood supplies. According to the authorities, the fighting has already cost the lives of more than 500 people and injured almost 5,000.
