War in Sudan Marks 1 Year: 15,000 Killed, 8.6M Displaced, 25M in Need of Immediate Aid

Today marks one year since the devastating war in Sudan erupted. An estimated 15,000 people have been killed, and another 8.6 million forcibly displaced, in what the U.N. calls “one of the worst displacement and humanitarian crises in the world — and one of the most ignored.” The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, have both been accused of war crimes as the conflict shows no signs of abating. Widespread sexual violence, indiscriminate attacks, targeting of health facilities and the restriction of aid have left communities across Sudan shattered with dwindling resources to support them. Safa Abdulmutalleb is now in South Sudan after her family was forced to flee Khartoum. Safa Abdulmutalleb: “It was very, very difficult. For a long period, we were hiding under our beds — no food, no water, no help. The bombs came from all sides. Especially where we lived, it was extremely difficult, as we were surrounded by army bases and military-industrial complexes.” The RSF has also been accused of ethnic cleansing and the targeting of non-Arab groups, including the ethnic Masalit community. The U.N. is calling on countries to step up funding for Sudan, where some 25 million people are in dire need of assistance. France is hosting a conference in Paris today with the goal of securing aid pledges from European countries.