The foreign ministers of Germany, the United Kingdom and Jordan said the war in Sudan had not received enough attention as tens of thousands of people were at risk after the fall of el-Fasher.
More than 65,000 people have fled el-Fasher in Darfur after it was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 26, according to the United Nations, Tens of thousands of people remain in the city.
“Sudan is absolutely an apocalyptic situation,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Saturday.
Aid won’t solve crisis — UK foreign secretary
Fighting has raged in Sudan between the military and its former ally, the RSF, since 2023. The United Arab Emirates has been accused of fueling the crisis by providing weapons and other support to the RSF.
In Bahrain, British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said: “No amount of aid can resolve a crisis of this magnitude until the guns fall silent.”
The RSF shared footage after it captured el-Fasher in DarfurImage: Rapid Support Forces/AFP
“Mass executions, starvation and the devastating use of rape as a weapon of war, with women and children bearing the brunt of the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century,” Cooper added. “For too long, this terrible conflict has been neglected, while suffering has simply increased.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also said the civil war in Sudan had not received adequate attention.
“A humanitarian crisis of inhumane proportions has taken place there,” he said.
Sudan: Witnesses, video detail RSF atrocities in el-Fasher
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MSF says civilians in grave danger
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said people in el-Fasher remained in “grave danger” as RSF fighters prevent them from escaping from the city.
But the medical NGO also fears for the people who have fled the city.
MSF also said only 5,000 people had managed to reach safety in Tawila, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of el-Fasher. This number is significantly lower than the estimated 65,000 who have fled el-Fasher.
MSF’s head of emergencies, Michel Olivier Lacharite, said the numbers “don’t add up, while accounts of large-scale atrocities are mounting.”
“Where are all the missing people who have already survived months of famine and violence in el-Fasher?” he said. “The most likely, albeit frightening, answer is that they are being killed, blocked and hunted down when trying to flee.”
Edited by: Sean Sinico
