13-19 July Sudan News Summary: Attacks on civilians, a free kitchen returns, and services in Khartoum

21 Jul

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

The Civil Administration in West Kordofan State announced the deaths of seven civilians and the injury of 23 others as a result of airstrikes carried out by the government air force on Al-Fula city, a new escalation in a series of attacks targeting populated areas in the region.
These developments come amid escalating military operations in West Kordofan, where the region is witnessing repeated airstrikes and clashes between government forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
This comes amid warnings from human rights organizations regarding the increasing violations against civilians and the need for international intervention to stop the escalation and protect the population.

The General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugee Camps announced a serious deterioration in the humanitarian and health conditions in displacement areas in Darfur, particularly Kalma camp and the Tawila area, due to the spread of cholera and severe malnutrition.
The National Commission for Human Rights appealed on Friday to the international community, relevant parties, international organisations, and all partners to pressure the lifting of the siege on El Fasher, North Darfur, and to deliver humanitarian aid to those trapped.
The situation has become extremely critical in Kalma and Tawila, where hunger and disease are claiming the lives of children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers daily, amid a severe shortage of drinking water, sanitation, and medical care.
The cholera outbreak in the Tawila area poses a major threat to hundreds of thousands of displaced people, especially during the rainy season and the fragile health environment.

The Emergency Room of El Daein, the capital of East Darfur State, announced the resumption of operations of the communal kitchen at the Manara camp for displaced persons, after a hiatus of several months due to a reduction in support.
The Manara camp, located west of El Daein, houses approximately 1,000 displaced people who fled from several Sudanese cities to East Darfur since April 2023.
The El Daein Central Humanitarian Emergency Room stated in a press release that it "received a significant financial grant from CARE International in the amount of $5,000, equivalent to 12,840,000 Sudanese pounds, to support the operation of the Manara communal kitchen, which serves the most vulnerable groups in El Daein."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that escalating violence, displacement, and heavy rains are exacerbating the suffering of civilians in Sudan.
For the first time since the siege of El Fasher began more than a year ago, reports indicated that large numbers of Rapid Support Forces fighters entered the city on Friday.
Heavy rains have been reported in West and Central Darfur states, potentially affecting road conditions in some locations and exacerbating humanitarian access challenges.
Despite the crisis, there are signs of limited returns in West Darfur, as families displaced from Chad have begun returning to the Sirba, Jebel Moon, and Kulbus areas to cultivate their farms.

The committee preparing for the return of citizens to Khartoum State have set timetables for completing the restoration of electricity to water stations and hospitals, among other measures.
Khartoum State media revealed in a statement that an agreement had been reached "on timetables during July and August to complete the restoration of electricity to water stations and hospitals, while the Central Bank of Sudan pledged to provide foreign currency for electricity and water needs.”
The committee pledged to work on maintaining 60 schools and providing 40,000 desks and school books, in addition to completing the removal of waste and debris.

By Samuel Hunt

Funding gaps amid civil war leave 60% of the population in need of assistance. Humanitarians in Sudan warn that a vacuum left by cuts to U.S. funding for aid programs cannot be filled.
USAID has reduced its staff by 83% -- down from 10,000 employees to a few hundred -- and has resulted in stop-work orders for grantees of its funds, including in Sudan.
Aid cuts leave UN refugee agency unable to shelter six in 10 fleeing war in Sudan. $1.4 billion of the agency’s programmes are being shuttered or put on hold.

“We can't stop water, you can’t stop sanitation, but we're having to take decisions when it comes, for example, to shelter,” said UNHCR Director of External Relations, Dominique Hyde.

In 2022, more than 90% of young children in Sudan received their routine vaccinations. But that figure has nearly halved to 48%, the lowest in the world, according to the WHO.
There were 838,000 children in Sudan last year who did not receive a single dose of vaccine – the third-highest figure in the world

The RSF stormed the besieged city of el-Fasher on Friday in a battle that raged for seven hours. Fghters managed to capture a cattle market, a prison and a military base while broadcasting videos of themselves walking around empty stockyards.
A group of human rights lawyers, Emergency Lawyers, says the RSF set fire to villages, killing 300 people, including children and pregnant women.

“It has been proven that these targeted villages were completely empty of any military objectives, which makes clear the criminal nature of these crimes carried out in complete disregard of international humanitarian law,” Emergency Lawyers said.