The largest displacement catastrophe in the world is occurring in Sudan, but British-Sudanese campaigner Mohanad Elbalal says the country hardly makes news.
Sudan is currently experiencing what many consider to be one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world as a result of nearly 500 days of violence and strife.
Since April 2023, a power struggle between the Sudanese army under Gen. Abdel Fattah al Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has resulted in around 52,000 deaths or injuries and tens of millions of displaced people.
The UN, which has gone so far as to declare that Sudan is currently at a “cataclysmic breaking point,” and relief organizations have issued many warnings, demonstrating the severity of the situation.
Analysts point out that the Sudanese civil war, despite its scope and intensity, has not garnered the same level of international attention as other crises, especially from the West.
According to Francois Sennesael, a professor and authority on African issues, “the conflict in Sudan is very high in intensity but is not as geopolitically important as Ukraine or Gaza for the West.”
“The security of Europe depends critically on Ukraine; Sudan does not… This alone explains why Sudan is ignored by the West whereas Ukraine is the focus of all their concern. When considering Israel, this logic is comparable.”
He added that a number of other reasons for this disregard for Sudan include the UN’s declining power in international affairs and the rising reluctance of Western nations to become actively involved in the domestic issues of other people.
Disregarded by Western media
Along with the “fatigue of Western populations towards Africa and its intractable conflicts, and, quite importantly, the regionalisation of security issues,” he added that Sudan has been largely “forgotten” by Western media.
The conflict is also “not high on the agenda of left-wing parties, which was the case in 2004 during the Darfur crisis, because Gaza is their top priority,” he continued. Western populations are not pressuring their governments to take action in Sudan.
He thinks that Western nations “are not willing to start an interventionist adventure” in Sudan.
Sennesael, a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford, told Anadolu Agency, “The West is pursuing an approach already seen in South Sudan or Ethiopia, which consists of attempting to quickly get power-sharing agreements signed between warring elites and ‘leave,’ unwilling to commit soldiers or money to maintain peace in Africa.”
“No one is bringing up the idea of starting a new peacekeeping operation in Sudan. Sudan is actually a perfect example of how multilateralism is losing its power in security matters and how Western nations are becoming less involved in Africa.”
He added Western nations are “trying to ‘fix’ Sudan without getting their feet on the ground” and are “cautiously engaged.”
“Western countries have expressed support for the Gulf countries, but also Egypt and Turkey, in their willingness to assume the role of the new ‘guardians’ of the region with regard to peace and security,” Sennesael stated.
But they haven’t taken a particularly aggressive stance, and they don’t appear to know exactly what their position should be. Despite a shared crucial interest in keeping Sudan afloat, they appear unable of putting aside their regional rivalries and personal interests to speak with one voice.”
Extreme Human Pain
According to British-Sudanese activist and journalist Mohanad Elbalal, the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan is still “very low on the global conscience.”
“The greatest refugee disaster in history is occurring in Sudan. He told Anadolu Agency, “The toll of human pain is immense and it hardly makes the news.
According to him, the Sudanese people desire “greater global awareness of what actually is happening in Sudan,” especially with regard to the state of humanitarian relief, as very little aid is currently reaching the country.
“Yes, there are other conflict areas … around the world which have significant or massive human suffering, such as Gaza, but Sudan is a country of 50 million people and we have over 10 million people displaced,” he stated.
“I think that needs global attention from the political side, but primarily from the humanitarian side because there needs to be more aid coming into Sudan.”
“Unsteady” peace negotiations
This week’s talks are part of a fresh round of US-sponsored talks that got underway in Geneva on July 14.
According to US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello, there are delegations from the RSF, UN, African Union, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US, and Switzerland, even though the Sudanese army is not taking part.
But Elbalal and Sennesael both noted that prior rounds of negotiations between the US and Saudi Arabia had mostly failed.
Elbalal stated that “you can’t have a negotiation when only one party shows up,” meaning that the chances of an agreement in Geneva are “extremely low.”
He declared, “Even if a ceasefire is achieved, it’s rather pointless without strict measures to ensure that the terms of the ceasefire are met.”
He added that when the RSF is not fighting the army, “they turned to looting and targeting civilians,” citing earlier instances from before the war began.
Many times, he claimed, it is “just too dangerous… to cross into RSF areas” when it comes to humanitarian help.
Thus, he continued, “ceasefires are not a solution in and of themselves because, even in the event that a truce is reached, the humanitarian situation remains unimproved.”
Sennesael thinks that the Burhan camp’s refusal to travel makes the present peace effort in Switzerland “seem somewhat shaky.”
“It takes two to tango, so I am not very sure any peace dance will start in the next few weeks,” he stated.
The peace negotiators were proud of the RSF’s pledge to expand humanitarian access, he continued, “but RSF has consistently broken their promises.”
