Buthaina, a 38-year-old Sudanese mother, sits on a dirt road in Adré, Chad, with her six children and other displaced women. They fled the besieged city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region when food and water ran out. “We left with nothing, just ran for our lives,” Buthaina tells the BBC, reflecting on the life they lost due to the ongoing civil war.
Since April last year, Sudan’s civil war has escalated between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, in a brutal struggle for power. The conflict has displaced millions, claimed thousands of lives, and driven parts of the country into famine. Aid agencies warn that Sudan may soon face the world’s worst famine unless significant international assistance arrives.
The BBC visited refugee camps at Adré and Port Sudan, both symbols of Sudan’s humanitarian crisis. Adré, a border crossing with Chad, had been closed for months, and although it has recently reopened, aid deliveries remain minimal. Many refugees, mostly women and children, cross the border into Chad daily, desperate for water and food. The World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies are struggling to raise awareness of the dire situation.
In makeshift camps, refugees endure torrential rain, adding to the difficulty of accessing basic supplies. “With rainfall comes diseases,” says Ying Hu from UNHCR, highlighting the compounded challenges of delivering aid in flood-prone areas. Aid deliveries are often delayed, with accusations that both the SAF and RSF block or steal shipments, aggravating the humanitarian crisis.
Famine has been declared in some areas, such as Zamzam camp in Darfur, though the situation is likely more widespread. The WFP has delivered over 200,000 tonnes of food since April 2023, far less than needed. Both the SAF and RSF deny accusations of obstructing aid, though the BBC’s attempts to secure their comments were unsuccessful.
Many of those displaced share stories of extreme trauma. In a camp in Port Sudan, women recount harrowing experiences of abuse, rape, and torture in RSF prisons. One woman, unnamed for her safety, described the horrific abuse she endured while trying to protect her two-year-old son. Safaa, another mother, left her husband behind in Omdurman, unsure if he is alive. Her children, like many others, are left traumatized, living in tents with no certainty about the future.
UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohamed visited Sudan with a team of executives to push for keeping the Adré crossing open and reigniting international attention on Sudan’s crisis. “There is fatigue because there are so many crises worldwide, but that’s not good enough,” she remarked. Mohamed emphasized the need for the global community to act swiftly, warning that without intervention, countless lives could be lost.