UN: Over half of Population In Need of Humanitarian Aid
Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed
Almost seven months of war between Sudan’s military and a paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) have left a wave of destruction with over half the population in need of humanitarian aid and raised fears of a repeat of the deadly ethnic conflict in Darfur 20 years ago.
“What is happening is verging on pure evil,” the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in the African nation said Friday.
Sudan has fallen out of the spotlight since it was engulfed in chaos starting in mid-April, when simmering tensions between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open warfare.
As recent heinous consequence of the war, more than 800 people have been reportedly killed by armed groups in Ardamata, West Darfur, an area so far less affected by the conflict. Ardamata also housed a camp for internally displaced people, where close to 100 shelters have been razed to the ground. Extensive looting – including of UNHCR relief items – has taken place in the area.
