Sudan one of the ‘worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory’, UN warns

The UN says a ‘humanitarian travesty’ is playing out in Sudan amid international inattention and inaction.

Sudan is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history after nearly a year of war, the United Nations has warned.

Fighting between the army, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, since last April has killed tens of thousands of people, as the threat of famine looms amid international inaction.

“By all measures – the sheer scale of humanitarian needs, the numbers of people displaced and facing hunger – Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory,” Edem Wosornu, director of operations at the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Wednesday.

“A humanitarian travesty is playing out in Sudan under a veil of international inattention and inaction,” Wosornu told the UN Security Council on behalf of OCHA head Martin Griffiths.

“Simply put, we are failing the people of Sudan,” she added, describing the population’s “desperation.”