Red Cross: Aid workers have no access to war zones in Sudan

Large parts of war-torn Sudan are inaccessible to aid workers, a Red Cross representative said on Wednesday, as devastating fighting between the army and paramilitaries continues to rage.

“There are many areas that we do not have access to, sometimes because they are very dangerous and sometimes we do not receive authorization,” said Pierre Dorbes, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“Improving access will help millions of people,” Dorbes told reporters in Port Sudan, the city on the Red Sea where the army, government and UN agencies are now based.

Since April 2023, war has been raging between the regular army under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

According to the United Nations, the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced more than ten million people to flee.

According to a recent UN report, nearly 26 million people, or just over half the population, face high levels of “acute food insecurity.”

In some areas affected by the violence, volunteer groups have set up community kitchens with the support of international organisations.

“We provide about 2,000 meals a day and this number is increasing daily,” said Esmat Mohamed, who oversees such an initiative in the capital Khartoum. AFP.

But international groups face logistical hurdles when it comes to transferring funds to volunteers on the ground, said an employee who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.

In the town of Dilling, near the border with South Sudan, Kinda Komi is one of the volunteers distributing meals to those in need.

“No food aid has reached the city since the war began and the roads connecting it to the rest of the country are cut off due to the clashes,” she said.

According to them, “half of those in need leave the country without receiving a meal.”