photo credit: Gale
The wars in Gaza and Ukraine continue to fire in not only the countries but also in headlines across the world. Lesser known but at the same time, a similar war has been devastating millions of Sudanese people every day for over two years.
As of April 15, 2023, Sudan has been in a disastrous war with its own rival military after the two military generals, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, were fighting over who should remain in charge. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support forces continue to dive deeper into a war that has the potential to diminish the country, according to Reuters.
“There were two coups that occurred in Sudan, which caused further instability in the country,” World History Teacher Brian Haines said, “Sudan is a very unstable country.”
Sudan’s past is noted with many undecided conflicts that lead to unfair treatment to the people.
“Its history is filled with coups, government changes and the brutal oppression of its people,” Haines said.
The war proceeds to escalate and is altering millions of lives in the process.
“The current civil war in Sudan is fueling one of the largest humanitarian crises ever,” World History Teacher Brooke Sandy said.
The fighting involves drone strikes, ground battles, mass killings, sex violence and human rights abuses that could eventually lead the country into a potential genocide according to the International Rescue Committee.
“Over 150,000 people have been killed and 12 million people have been displaced,” Sandy said.
The people of Sudan are being impacted the most as an effect of the battle.
Unfortunately, “there are over 25 million people starving,” Haines said.
According to UN News, poor living conditions and famines continue to increase in number making this the largest and fastest growing displacement crisis in world history.
“Civilians are faced with continued fighting, famine, disease outbreaks from a collapsed healthcare system, contaminated food and a lack of access to clean drinking water,” Sandy said.
To worsen the issue, over half of Sudan’s population needs humanitarian assistance, but according to BBC News, over 70 percent of the country’s hospitals have been destroyed.
“Aid to help address famine and the collapse of the healthcare system is regularly blocked,” Sandy said.
Due to this, over 14 million Sudanese people have had no choice but to leave as the fighting continues.
“Many civilians flee and are displaced within Sudan or to neighboring countries like Chad,” Sandy said.
The famine in Sudan is reaching its worst peak with more civilians reaching starvation in Sudan than the rest of the world combined according to The Guardian.
“If fighting continues, and that unfortunately looks likely at this juncture, it will further exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis,” Sandy said.
There have been rumors of other countries supporting the war, although when asked, the countries deny their involvement.
“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) appears to be supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the conflict,” Sandy said.
There have been some efforts to end the war, but not enough is being done to fully abolish the fighting.
“Some countries-like the US, Canada, and the European Union have imposed sanctions on both sides of the conflict,” Haines said.
The war continues today, but many hope that the fighting will end soon as the Sudanese people are being forced to prolong their evacuation.
