After enduring two months of intense conflict that plunged Sudan into turmoil, the warring factions commenced a cease-fire on Sunday morning.
The capital city, Khartoum, and its neighbouring urban centre, Omdurman, experienced a sense of “relative calm” in the initial hours of the truce, following a series of fierce clashes the previous day.
The three-day pause in hostilities precedes a significant pledging conference organized by the United Nations and other nations, scheduled for Monday. The objective of the conference is to raise funds to address Sudan’s pressing humanitarian needs.
Disturbingly, the United Nations reports that it has received less than 16% of the $2.57 billion required to provide crucial assistance to those in need within Sudan in 2023. Additionally, an additional $470 million is urgently needed to support refugees in the Horn of Africa region.
The United States and Saudi Arabia played pivotal roles in brokering the cease-fire agreement, which was announced on Saturday. Both nations dedicated concerted diplomatic efforts over the past two months to halt the devastating war.
In a joint statement, the United States and Saudi Arabia confirmed that the military and its rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, have agreed to cease hostilities and refrain from seeking military advantages during the designated cease-fire period.
Sudan was thrust into chaos as long-simmering tensions between rival generals erupted into open warfare in mid-April, enveloping the nation in violence. The capital, Khartoum, and the western Darfur region became the epicentres of the armed conflict.
The clashes transformed urban areas into battlegrounds, resulting in a death toll exceeding 3,000 and leaving over 6,000 wounded, as reported by Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim. Additionally, more than 2.2 million people were forced to flee their homes, seeking safety within Sudan or across its borders.
This latest cease-fire attempt is part of a series of previous truces brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, all prior attempts failed to halt the fighting, with the mediators attributing the repeated violations to both warring factions.
The humanitarian situation within the war-ravaged country continues to deteriorate. More than half of Sudan’s population, approximately 24.7 million individuals, require urgent humanitarian assistance.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning on Friday, projecting that over 100,000 children will suffer from severe acute malnutrition and related medical complications by the end of the year.
To address the escalating health needs of those affected by the conflict within Sudan and assist those who sought refuge in neighbouring countries, the WHO urgently requires $145 million in funding. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasized the unprecedented scale of the health crisis and stressed the need for immediate funds to prevent the collapse of Sudan’s healthcare system.
Furthermore, the conflict has caused severe damage to the country’s infrastructure, rendering approximately 60% of health facilities nonfunctional across Sudan.
The WHO reported a significant decrease in medical supplies, which were either destroyed or looted. From April 15 to June 8 alone, at least 46 attacks on health facilities were confirmed by the UN agency, exacerbating an already dire situation.
