More than half of Sudan needs humanitarian aid: NGO chief

CAIRO,

More than half of Sudan's population is in need of humanitarian assistance, the head of the Danish Refugee Council told AFP, as fighting continues to devastate the northeast African nation.

Since breaking out in April 2023, the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 12 million, and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

"We see a situation where more than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. That is half of the population of Sudan," Danish Refugee Council Secretary-General Charlotte Slente told AFP by phone this week after a visit to a border region in neighbouring Chad.

"The suffering we see is unimaginable."

Sudan had a population of around 50 million people in 2024, according to the World Bank.

The aid official’s comments came following a field visit to an area in Chad bordering Sudan's western Darfur region, which has witnessed intense fighting in recent weeks.

Violence has escalated dramatically, with the RSF seizing control of the key town of El-Fasher - the army’s last stronghold in Darfur - after an 18-month siege, alongside increasing reports of atrocities.

"There are violations that cross all international humanitarian laws," Slente added.

The NGO chief said they had observed evidence of mass killings and sexual violence in Sudan.

"We see detentions, we see abductions, forced displacement and torture," she said.

She accused the international community of insufficient action.

"Statements have a very limited impact both on the ongoing humanitarian needs on the ground, and they have not been able to stop the violence," she said.

Slente warned that other cities still under siege were not receiving the same level of attention.

The town of Babanusa, the last army stronghold in West Kordofan state, has been under siege for several months, as have the North Kordofan state capital El-Obeid and South Kordofan’s Kadugli and Dilling.

"The international community must stop managing the consequences of this conflict and must start preventing the atrocities," said Slente.