PORT SUDAN  – The United Nations’ humanitarian chief has called for immediate international action to address Sudan’s deepening crisis, highlighting the suffering of millions displaced by conflict.

Tom Fletcher spoke with refugees during a nine-day visit to Sudan and Chad, vowing to amplify their plight and urge the world to provide greater support.

“We are not invisible,” he said, relaying a message from those affected.

Sudan has been engulfed in war since April 2023, pitting the regular army, led by Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The violence has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 11 million people, creating what the United Nations describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in recent history.

During a visit on Friday to El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, Fletcher met the region’s governor, and heard “heart-rending stories” from refugees fleeing the conflict.

“It is a tough situation out there, the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. And I’ve been talking to local people to host communities,” Fletcher said, quoted in a UN statement issued late Saturday. Before travelling to Darfur, Fletcher visited the Adre crossing on the border with Chad after UN aid deliveries were extended for three more months early in November. Fletcher, who met representatives of the host communities in Chad on the border, said Adre was “a lifeline for desperately-needed aid to reach people in Sudan”. “I know that the situation is very, very hard. I know that you need food, medicine, education and shelter, and pride and dignity,” Fletcher told refugees in Chad.

Nearly 26 million people — about half the population — face the threat of mass starvation in Sudan as both warring sides have been accused of using hunger as a weapon of war.

“These numbers are staggering, and we cannot turn our backs,” Fletcher said. 

– Nampa/AFP