However, as the two armies continued to fight, the country’s plight was largely ignored by the international community.
“As global leaders focus elsewhere, they are not receiving the attention and support needed to prevent a nightmare scenario for the Sudanese people. The world cannot claim that it did not know how bad the situation in Sudan was or that urgent action was needed, Dunford said.
Urgent expansion
The World Food Program (WFP) announced it will urgently expand efforts to provide life-saving food and nutritional support. Currently, 18 million people in Sudan are severely food insecure a number that has nearly tripled since 2019. Nearly 5 million people are suffering from acute hunger.
“Sudan is facing widespread hunger and malnutrition. WFP Continue to expand food and nutrition assistance to reach millions more people living through the daily horrors of war,” said Mr. Dunford.
WFP will scale up assistance to an additional 5 million people by the end of the year, doubling the number the agency plans to assist by early 2024.
As part of the support, they will also provide cash assistance to 1.2 million people in 12 states, aimed at boosting local markets. Additionally, the agency is working directly with small farmers, many displaced by conflict, to boost wheat production.
However, ongoing violence in Sudan makes it extremely difficult to reach those most in need. About 90 percent of those living in a state of emergency are in areas where access is extremely limited due to fierce fighting.
WFP is working around the clock to expand access across frontlines and other hard-to-reach areas.
“The situation is already dire and is likely to worsen unless all those affected are supported. due to conflict,” Mr. Dunford said.
The massacre in Aj Jazirah state
The reported massacre in the village of Wad Al-Noura in Aj Jazirah state on Wednesday illustrates the horrors of the growing conflict.
“Even by the tragic standards of the conflict in Sudan, the images emerging from Wad Al-Noura are heart-breaking,” speak Clementine Nkweta-SalamiSudan Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
There were reports of intense gunfire and the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas, leading to high numbers of casualties. Ms. Nkweta-Salami called for a thorough investigation and demanded that the perpetrators of the massacre be held accountable.
“Human tragedy has become a hallmark of life in Sudan. We cannot allow impunity to become just another problem,” she said.
At least 55 children died or were injured
The violent attacks are believed to have left at least 55 children dead and injured.
“I am appalled by the news that at least 35 children were killed and more than 20 children were injured in yesterday’s attack in the village of Wad al Noura, al-Jazira state of Sudan,” he said. UNICEF Executive Director Ms. Catherine Russell.
She describes it as “another grim reminder of how Sudan’s children are paying the price of brutal violence“.
Thousands of children have been killed, injured, recruited, kidnapped, raped and other serious acts of sexual violence in the past year. More than five million children have been forced to leave their homes.
Ms. Russell called for “an immediate end to hostilities, ensuring the protection of children from harm.”
Nearly 10 million people were displaced
International Organization for Migration (IOM) meanwhile warned that the number of people displaced by conflict in Sudan could reach 10 million in the coming days.
The figure includes 2.8 million men, women and children displaced before the start of a period of conflict that erupted between rival generals last April.
More than half of the internally displaced are women and girls, and more than a quarter of the displaced are children under 5 years old.
