NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — At Zamzam camp, 13 children are dying every day from severe malnutrition. Sudan A medical charity said on Monday that their country’s 10-month war in North Darfur has resulted.
Meanwhile, the head of the UN refugee agency warned that Europe could face a surge in Sudans refugees if a ceasefire agreement between Sudans warring parties is not signed soon and aid efforts are not strengthened. Can be dealt with.
Deaths from starvation reported in Sudan’s civil war, says UN Food Agency
According to Claire Nicollet, head of emergency response at the camp, a child is dying every two hours in the camp. Sudans For Doctors Without Borders, or MSF.
“People who are severely malnourished who have not yet died are at a higher risk of dying within three to six weeks if they are not treated,” Nicollet said.
Zamzam, a camp of more than 300,000 people, was originally built in 2003 by people fleeing ethnically targeted violence in the region, MSF says. Sudans In April 2023, military and paramilitary forces deprived camp residents of humanitarian and medical aid, the group said in a statement.
Europe may need to prepare for a wave of Sudanese refugees, the UNHCR chief has warned.
UN agencies and international aid organizations evacuated North Darfur after the war began in April, and have maintained only a limited presence since then, MSF said.
“Now, they are almost completely abandoned. There has been no distribution of food by the World Food Program since May. People are going hungry — and children are dying as a result,” Nicolet said. .
MSF said it would rapidly increase the scale of aid to the camp to provide treatment to children in the most critical condition. However, the group said the scale of the disaster required a greater response than MSF could provide alone.
The head of the United Nations refugee agency said that without additional help, refugees from Sudanese will try to get to Europe.
“Europeans are always very concerned about people coming across the Mediterranean. Well, I have a warning for them if they see more refugees coming from Sudanese, even displaced within Sudan. If we don’t support the people who are going to be, then we will see further movement of people. Libya, Tunisia and across the Mediterranean,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. ”no doubt.”
More than 9 million people are thought to be internally displaced in Sudans, and 10 months of clashes between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and a powerful paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces. 1.5 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries. The group was led by General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo.
The conflict started last April in the capital Khartoum and quickly spread to other parts of the country.
Grandi said Sudan’s neighbors – Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ethiopia – had their own “fragilities” and would be unable to provide sufficient aid to the refugees.
He said refugees would move further to northern countries such as Tunisia, where some have been documented planning to cross to Europe.
“When refugees go out and don’t get adequate support, they go further,” Grandi said.
He said that the war in Sudans is fragmenting and many militias are controlling the areas.
“Militias are even less reluctant to commit abuses against civilians,” he said, adding that this would lead to even more displacement.
Grandi also said that conflicts in places like Sudans, Congo, Afghanistan and Myanmar should not be ignored during the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
He said that Gaza is a tragedy, it needs a lot of attention and resources but it cannot be at the cost of another big crisis like Sudans.
Grandi made the remarks a day after visiting Sudans and Ethiopia, which are recovering from two years of conflict in their northern Tigray region.
The United Nations says at least 12,000 people have been killed in Sudan’s conflict, although local doctors’ groups say the actual number is much higher.
Dagalo’s paramilitary forces appear to have gained the upper hand in the past three months, with their fighters advancing east and north of Sudan’s central belt. Human rights organizations have accused both sides of war crimes.
Africa’s regional partners, along with Saudi Arabia and the United States, are trying to mediate an end to the conflict, which has facilitated several rounds of failed, indirect talks between the warring parties. Burhan and Dagalu have yet to meet in person since the conflict began.