Sudan: Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok Blocks Humanitarian Aid to Darfur via Chad
The United States is extremely concerned about ‘the recent decision of the army to ban humanitarian aid across the border from Chad’
Authorities aligned with the Sudanese army have barred the entry of aid across the border into the war-torn Darfur region in the west of the country, a step condemned by the United States and relief organizations.
The vast Darfur region, bordering Chad, is one of the most affected parts of Sudan since the war began ten months ago between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
In its current battle against the army, which began last April, the Rapid Support Forces have seized control of four out of the five capitals of the Darfur states. Over 694,000 people have fled across the border to Chad, according to the International Organization for Migration, but many are still trapped in Darfur and in need of assistance.
With communications services completely cut off in Jazeera state in central Sudan, complaints about army violations against civilians have escalated, along with severe shortages of basic and essential supplies, in addition to some health facilities going out of service.
The United Nations has been forced to restrict its operations from Chad to Darfur across the border, and the director of the United Nations World Food Program in Sudan, Eddie Rowe, told journalists last week that the “authorities have restricted” these operations, meaning the Sudanese army.
Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Friday that the United States was extremely concerned about “the recent decision of the army to ban humanitarian aid across the border from Chad.”
The United Nations Human Rights Office said that the Sudanese army had committed violations that could amount to war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilian sites such as hospitals, markets, and even displaced persons camps.
In Brussels, Rowe from the World Food Program said that his agency “is working with authorities to ensure the continued operation of this vital lifeline” from Chad.
An international relief worker requested anonymity to Agence France-Presse on Sunday, saying it was necessary.
He added that “children and infants are already dying from hunger and malnutrition, there will be a massive human impact… and widespread death rates are very likely.”
The relief worker continued, “The highest levels of diplomacy must resolve this situation immediately, as millions of lives” are at stake, describing Darfur as a “vast region already facing an imminent and immense food crisis.”
