Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on Thursday appealed to the international community to undertake urgent humanitarian interventions to “save the lives of those in the most affected areas.”
Dagalo said on social media platform X that the war, now entering its 10th month, had now reached a “peak” and that famine was a serious threat to some areas of the country.
“As a result of this humanitarian catastrophe, civilians inside Sudan are living today in tragic humanitarian conditions that require urgent intervention from all regional and international relief organizations and agencies to save them from the danger of starvation,” Dagalo said.
Dagalo accused remnants of former regime and army forces of preventing relief and humanitarian aid from reaching RSF controlled areas like Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan.
“The areas under the control of the Rapid Support Forces exceeds 25 million people,” RSF leader said.
Dagalo also blamed “deliberate measures” taken by army authoroties in Port Sudan, where more than 70% of humanitarian aid arriving in the country is held, to obstruct the passage of aid to RSF controlled areas.
RSF leader said aid must be increased to all regions of Sudan to confront the approaching disaster.
Dagalo emphasized the urgency of reaching an agreement promptly to initiate a program akin to the Lifeline initiative.
The Lifeline program originated from a 1989 agreement signed by UNICEF, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, and the government of Sudan during the era of the third democracy.
“Because the leadership of the current armed forces may reject this step, because it does not care at all about the suffering of the Sudanese, we declare our readiness to enter into a bilateral agreement and cooperate with the competent international organizations and agencies to implement it to save civilians in areas of our control,” Dagalo said.
Dagalo also called on all humanitarian partners and the international community to exert maximum pressure on army authorities in Port Sudan to fulfill its obligations under international law.
Sudan has since April 15, 2023 been plunged into a civil war pitting army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The conflict has resulted in a devastating toll, with over 12,190 casualties and the displacement of more than seven million people, according to estimates by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project and UN figures, respectively.
Mediation efforts have faced significant obstacles due to deep-seated animosity between the rival factions. Despite Burhan’s administration continuing to issue statements as Sudan’s government, Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces assert control over Khartoum’s streets, Darfur, and a substantial part of Al-Jazira, once Sudan’s vital agricultural region.
