
Sudan: OCHA – Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. in Sudan, Abdou Dieng (21.04.2023)



The ongoing fighting is preventing WFP from delivering critical emergency food, providing school meals for children, or preventing and treating malnutrition.
DAKAR, Senegal, April 21, 2023 – The explosion of violence in Sudan has the potential to plunge millions more into hunger. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to call a temporary halt to operations providing life-saving food and cash assistance in a country where a third of the population already struggles to get enough food to eat.
Record numbers of people were already facing hunger in Sudan before the conflict erupted on April 15. In 2023, WFP planned to support more than 7.6 million people. The ongoing fighting is preventing WFP from delivering critical emergency food, providing school meals for children, or preventing and treating malnutrition. WFP also cannot carry out its work to support farmers to boost agriculture productivity in a project that aims to more than double Sudan’s annual wheat production, nor help people rebuild their livelihoods.
Tragically, three WFP employees have lost their lives in the crossfire, while two others sustained severe injuries. WFP’s staff, offices, vehicles, equipment, and food stocks have come in the direct line of fire.
The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by WFP on behalf of the international community, has been completely grounded. UNHAS flies to over 30 destinations in Sudan carrying around 26,000 passengers and light humanitarian cargo annually. One aircraft has been damaged beyond repair at Khartoum International Airport. Meanwhile at least ten vehicles and six food trucks have been stolen.
WFP guesthouses, offices, and warehouses in Nyala, South Darfur have been overrun and looted, with the loss of up to 4,000 metric tons of food for hungry people.
WFP calls on all parties to the conflict to take immediate steps to guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers and to protect humanitarian assets and premises in Sudan. WFP urges all parties to put an end to the fighting and come to an agreement that enables the continued delivery of vital food and humanitarian assistance.

An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people have fled the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region to seek refuge in neighbouring Chad, according to UNHCR teams present at the border.
GENEVA, Switzerland, April 21, 2023 – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, is greatly alarmed by the escalating violence in Sudan as the first refugees fleeing the fighting have found safety in Chad.
In the past days, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people have fled the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region to seek refuge in neighbouring Chad, according to UNHCR teams present at the border.
The majority of those arriving are women and children, who are currently sheltering out in the open. UNHCR is working closely with the Government of Chad and its partners to assess their needs and prepare a joint response.
The initial, most pressing, needs are water, food, shelter, health care, child protection, and prevention of gender-based violence. Due to the violence experienced by those crossing the border, psychosocial support is also among our top priorities.
UNHCR is coordinating with the Chad authorities to support the registration of the new arrivals in the coming days. UNHCR and partners are undertaking protection and border monitoring activities at key entry points.
Eastern Chad already hosts over 400,000 refugees from Sudan and the new arrivals are placing additional strain on the country’s overstretched public services and resources.
“Tragically we have already received reports of refugees caught in the ongoing fighting in Sudan,” said Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations. “It is urgent that the conflict stops to prevent the loss of more lives. We reiterate our call for all parties to protect civilians, including refugees and displaced people, and to respect the safety of humanitarian staff so that critical aid can be delivered.”
UNHCR remains ready to respond and support as needed in Sudan and the region.

The civil forces that signed the framework agreement submitted a detailed proposal on cessation of humanitarian hostilities during the blessed Eid Al-Fitr period to the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and I communicated with them throughout the day.
We welcome the positive position of the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and we will continue our efforts in the hope of silencing the voice of the guns and favoring peaceful options that remove the specter of collapse from our country, and give our great homeland an opportunity to recover and preserve its unity, sovereignty, security and freedom.
In conclusion, we extend our congratulations to our people on the occasion of the blessed Eid Al-Fitr, and we sympathize with our honorable martyrs who fell victims of this war, civilians and military, we hope that this holiday will be the beginning of an end to the grief, an end to the bloodshed, and the recovery of our wounded and bereaved homeland.
Civilian forces signatories to the framework agreement
April 20, 2023 AD

More than a hundred resistance committees in 18 states described what was going on in the country as an elite struggle.
The resistance committees that signed the Revolutionary Charter for People’s Power called in a statement for those they described as (honorable people within the army to wrest the army institution from the hands of those it described as generals, coups and subordination), stressing the need to confront all intelligence polarization attempts that use the military institution as a vehicle to serve narrow interests.
And she stressed the necessity of blocking the movement of (Al-Kizan) and trying to sympathize with the army to ensure the return of their organization.
He questioned the professional competence of the current army leadership, explaining that the leaders grew up during the period of political manipulation of the army in favor of the Islamic Front organization.
And she stressed the need to start immediately to reformulate the current military and security reality in order to reach as soon as possible a single professional national army.
It called for the dissolution and demobilization of the Rapid Support Forces, or its integration into the army through the well-known scientific and professional methods. This also applies to armed movements, up to the unified professional army.
In addition, the forces of the December Revolution demanded the immediate cessation of operations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces
The forces, which include 18 political parties and civil entities, including the Baath Socialist Party and the Darfur Lawyers Association, considered the failure of the one-day truce as evidence of the two parties’ indifference to the lives and suffering of the people.
And she called for broad solidarity with the victims in the camps, the stricken neighborhoods, the survivors of the chaotic bombing, or the injured. She stressed the need to stand together to stop the war.

According to people’s experiences in the past days, these are general instructions and tips for dealing with the military forces, “rapid support specifically” if they meet you on the street or at a base..
Note that there is no fixed rule, but it is preferable for people to adhere to the following:
1 – Don’t sleep in the morning, very early or immediately after sunset, “I sleep with the people” , movement is generally preferred during the day.
2- Do not move before you explore the street that walks in it. Make sure first that it is safe or not. “You can ask the people around you or find out from the media.”
3- If you pass by as an Arab driver, it is advisable for you to open the windows, “so that if they call you or stop you, you will hear and stand up for me.” It is better to dismantle the shading these days if the Arabic is shaded and does not move quickly.
4- If they told you to stop, I would stand for them without hesitation, don’t run!
“Most of those who beat Dale are mostly young and they didn’t stand up.”
5- Do not be afraid to speak with me, trust those who ask you, answer as much as the question, and show them where you are going and where you are coming from, simply.
6- Do not carry any card with you that has a relationship with a legal entity, “because it will involve you in stories that you will not pass through easily.”
7- No matter how much they provoke you, do not trade with them, just be patient and do not work with them.
8 – Large vehicles are often targeted, such as buggies, Land Cruisers and 4WDs, so it is advisable to install a small saloon.
9. Delete any photos and videos that have anything to do with war, demonstrations, and politics in general from your phone.
10- Do not carry valuables with you while you are on the move.
And last but not least, it is recommended that you do not look out of the house unless absolutely necessary.

We, in the Forces of Freedom and Change, continued our efforts to quell the strife that sparked the war in our country, which entered its fourth day today.
Since that fateful hour, the situation has rapidly deteriorated, the human tragedy is exacerbated, and the danger of losing our country’s unity, sovereignty, and cohesion is increasing hour by hour.
In this context, we have intensified communication today with the tripartite and quadruple mechanisms in support of their initiative to reach a humanitarian truce for 24 hours, and we have communicated with the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, urging them to accept this proposal.
This resulted in positive stances issued by them that were announced, and the discussion is still ongoing about the provisions of this armistice and the creation of mechanisms to ensure its success, which we encourage and work to support.
We also welcome the statement issued by the resistance committees and the political, civil and professional forces, which brought together a wide spectrum of the forces of the revolution, and stressed their common position against the war and against the plans of the remnants and with the development of joint mechanisms between the forces of the revolution in order to take the initiative and not allow any party to destroy and fragment the country.
We call in the forces of freedom and change for the need for all local and international forces to unite to address the humanitarian catastrophe that resulted from the outbreak of battles in Sudan, and we stress the need for the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to commit to facilitating access to hospitals and main facilities. Providing humanitarian aid and basic services, not tolerating the violations that occur and holding the perpetrators accountable.
Finally, we stress the need to isolate the speeches of the remnants of the defunct regime that spread speeches of fueling war and igniting it with a desire to return to power over the ruins of the country, and we will continue to confront them and prevent them from fragmenting the country and its unity. The revolution that sent them to the dustbins of history is still burning in the breasts and will not be extinguished by the bullets.
Executive Office of the Forces of Freedom and Change
April 18, 2023 AD

We are in the resistance committees and the civil, democratic, political and professional forces, and further to our first statement issued on the fourteenth of this April, we are issuing this statement while our country has slipped into the furnace of total war in which the generals launch their cannons to destroy everything and everything, which was used in which excessive violence by the regular forces is a tool to resolve the dispute and the struggle over power, which is contrary to the rules of democratic transition and peaceful rotation of power.
We affirm that despite our differences in political visions, we are completely united on the anti-war stance and its continuation, and the anti-For the return of the remnants of the former regime to the political scene.
We call for an immediate end to the war, silencing the sound of the guns, and not accepting its results, whatever they may be. We also stress the need for the unity of the revolutionary forces in the face of the plans of the remnants, and their relentless pursuit of domination over the country again, even if it costs tearing it to pieces, and we assure them that their endeavor will be disappointed. And that they will never return, for the glorious December revolution that uttered them is still alive and kicking.
In this regard, we intend to agree on a joint mechanism to follow up developments, coordinate positions, and address everything that endangers the security and safety of our country and our citizens.
The two parties agreed to the armistice that was previously announced by the United Nations, and did not specify safe passages to evacuate the stranded, nor did it work to protect medical personnel, nor did hospitals spare them, and we consider that everything that is happening is contrary to international humanitarian law, and the four Geneva protocols, and we hold the parties to war –
Full responsibility for any violation of human rights.
We renew the call to all the forces of the civil revolution to take the initiative and unite to condemn the war operations, and call for their immediate cessation, and not to leave the homeland prey to the will of the military and the remnants of the former regime, and to mobilize to declare a political strike and comprehensive civil disobedience, this- It is the duty of the hour that we must all rally around, and not allow discourses of sedition, fragmentation and hateful hatred to tear this country apart and undermine its unity, sovereignty, safety and dignity of its people.
Signatories:
1- Hajj Youssef Neighborhood Committees Gathering
2- Coordination of the old Omdurman resistance committees
3- East Nile South Coordination
4- Industrial Area Resistance Committees
5- Resistance Committees – Wad El Nil
6- Al-Dali and Al-Mazmoum Resistance Committees – Sennar State
7- The Arab Socialist Baath Party – the original
8- The forces of freedom and change
9- The Republican Party
10- The mechanism of uniting the forces of the revolution
11- Baladna Movement
12- Apostasy alliance is impossible
13- Civil Coalition for Justice Transitional
14- Sudanese Professionals Association
15- The Trade Union of El-Neelain University Professors
16- The gathering of the professors of Al-Neelain University
17- University of Khartoum professors initiative
18- Gathering of professors of the University of Gezira
19- Gathering of professors of the Sudan University of Science and Technology
20- Gathering of Professionals and Professors of Imam Al-Mahdi University
21- University of Khartoum Engineers Association and Network
22- Sudan University Engineers Assembly
23- University of Khartoum Alumni Conference
24- Sudanese Bankers Association
25- Gathering of workers in the oil sector
26- The Tax Office Professionals Association
27- Administrative Officers Gathering
28- The Sudanese Craftsmen and Workers Gathering
29- Solidarity of Sudanese trade unions
30- The Sudanese Civil Society Organizations Confederation
31- Student Movement Alliance
32- Bahri Youth Initiative
33- SAS Center for Human Rights
34- Garfna movement
35- Women’s political and civil groups (Mansim)
36- North Kandakat block
37- The Kandakat block east of the Nile
38- Kandakat Block Omdurman
39- Kandakat Bahri block
40- Women of Freedom and Change Platform
41- Democratic Women’s Union
42- Female guards
43- Abu Hajjar Resistance Committees
44- Resistance Committees – Duweim
45- The Civil Democratic Transition Bloc
46- Gathering of professors of Omdurman Islamic University
47- The Steering Committee of the Subsidiary Body of the Workers Union at the Ministry of Agriculture
48- Marine Biology Committees
49- The Student Struggle Front
50- Gathering of professors of the University of the Red Sea
51- Coordination of the White Nile Resistance Committees
52- The Revolutionary Forces Unity Alliance, White Nile State
53- A strong civil alliance in the Nuba Mountains
54- Sudanese Teachers Committee
Tuesday
April 18, 2023


In light of the continuation of the fighting, the rates of deaths and injuries are increasing at an exponential pace, and warn of unbearable consequences in terms of heavy losses in lives and innocent lives, in addition to the complexity of public life and the difficulty of evacuating and counting the dead. And injured, stranded, and other detainees, and what makes matters worse, many hospitals and health facilities are out of service due to being hit by missiles, and due to power outages and the scarcity of supplies and aids, in addition to using some of them as pillars, which is considered a human and moral crime that contradicts laws and regulations.
traditions and customs.
As we condemn in the strongest terms this ongoing war, we appeal and demand the opening of safe passages to treat the sick and injured, and to deliver food and medicine supplies.
We note that this list is what your committee has reached, and that there are many dead and injured who have not been reached while they are out. The scope of our limitation.
The total number of civilian deaths since the beginning of the war has reached (144).
– The total number of injuries since the beginning of the war reached (1409), including both civilians and military personnel.
Here are the details of the events of the third day, April 17, 2023:
– The total number of civilian deaths (47).
– The total number of injuries (467), including:
civilians and military together.
Khartoum:
– The number of civilian deaths (10).
– The number of injuries (176) cases.
Nautical:
– The number of civilian deaths (1).
– The number of injuries (18) cases.
Omdurman:
– The number of civilian deaths (7).
– The number of injuries (42) cases.
Regions:
– The number of civilian deaths (29).
– The number of injuries (231), including (195) civilian injuries and (36) military injuries.
Notify the committee
April 18, 2023