Lacking a lasting truce, humanitarian aid in Sudan on verge of collapse

The violent conflict in Sudan has entered its third week and continues to escalate. Thus far, the warring parties have agreed to five different cease-fire proposals, none of which has lasted more than a few hours before being broken by one or both sides.

This has created an extraordinary obstacle for humanitarian workers and nongovernmental organizations in attempting to provide aid to those who need it, while at the same time further damaging civilian infrastructure and increasing the need for that unavailable aid.

Humanitarian aid in Sudan

On Sunday, during the latest shaky cease-fire, the Red Cross managed to land the first plane with humanitarian aid in Sudan since the conflict erupted on April 15. “The 8 tons of humanitarian cargo includes surgical material to support Sudanese hospitals and volunteers from the Sudan Red Crescent Society,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

Karl Schembri, regional media adviser for East Africa and Yemen at the Norwegian Refugee Council, told The Media Line that the instability of the cease-fire meant that humanitarian workers felt unsafe and severely limited their ability to perform their tasks.

“It has meant that all our work has been compromised. We have our colleagues holed up in guest houses and in their homes; they cannot deliver humanitarian aid,” Schembri said. “We have identified some areas which are relatively safer, where we are hoping to be able to deliver services in the hope that the fighting doesn’t reach there. The broken cease-fires mean that it’s impossible to plan aid deliveries.”

Elhadi Abdalla Mohamed, coordinator of Sudan Call, a humanitarian response initiative, told The Media Line that health facilities were being explicitly controlled, taken over, targeted, and put out of action by armed groups, and that aid workers were not protected. He said that three aid workers from the UN's World Food Programme and one from the International Organization for Migration had been killed. In addition, vehicles and relief materials belonging to international NGOs (INGOs) were looted.

Mohamed said that although INGO workers are bound by a “duty of care” and have a specific tolerance for security risks, they have been obliged to suspend operations due to the current high risk levels.

Without a truce, he said, “relief materials cannot be airlifted or trucked without a high risk of looting. That is why the Sudan Call humanitarian initiative, which I am coordinating at a local and international level, is calling for a cease-fire to ensure humanitarian access and protection for civilians.”

A struggle for power

The conflict in Sudan involves a struggle for power between rival factions of the Sudanese military government, namely the Sudanese Armed Forces, headed by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.

The RSF was created by the country’s former president, Omar al-Bashir, to function in parallel to the national armed forces and prevent a military coup. But since al-Bashir’s deposal in 2019, Sudan has struggled to transition to civilian rule, with the two military forces contending for the country’s control.

Dr. Dorcas Ettang, senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal with a doctorate in conflict transformation and peace studies, said that the challenge with wars of this nature is that reaching a truce is always hampered by a lack of political will and commitment to reach a resolution.

“Both groups want to expand their reach, capture various areas, and wield more influence and control in the country,” she told The Media Line.

Mohamed said that one reason both sides keep breaking the truces is the ambition and the belief of each of the two generals that he can destroy his opponent on the battlefield. He also said that both generals fear being held to account for previous violations and having to face questions over their economic wealth and that both see the only way out to be winning the war and achieving a strong position to advance their political agenda.

Schembri said that if both sides are willing to break the truces while the world is watching, “it’s just terrifying to think what they will do when the media stops giving attention to Sudan.” However, he added that the reasons for the continuous breaches of the truces were unclear. “We don’t know if they have lost control of their men or if this is intentional,” he said.

Ettang said the conflict was greatly endangering the desired transition to civilian rule, which was supposed to be strengthened over time through the installation of norms, processes, and policies that would be inclusive and citizen-centered. “Trying to address various socioeconomic challenges like poverty, poor infrastructure, and climate-related problems amongst others cannot be addressed successfully and sustainably in the long run with disruptions of this nature,” she said.