Sudan’s War: Numbers Alone Cannot Capture the Human Suffering
Moatinoon
Amid the crowded displaced persons’ center in "West Airport" in Kassala city, I met Um Salma, a woman in her thirties. Her features bore deep sorrow and fear that could no longer be concealed. Um Salma, a pseudonym, shared the story of her forced displacement from Wad Al-Abbas village to Sennar city, leaving her family behind to attend a relative’s wedding.
On the wedding day, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the city, sparking clashes. Speaking in a choked voice and with terror-filled eyes, she recounted, “The airstrike split my aunt in two right in front of me. That scene never leaves me... I see it every moment.”
Um Salma fled with the city’s residents, walking for hours without food or water, after the RSF looted their possessions. She eventually settled in Kassala but lost contact with her family left behind in Wad Al-Abbas, embarking on another painful journey of displacement and anguish.
Harsh Reality
Women in Sudan have found themselves facing the brutality of war, enduring bombings, violence, displacement, and physical and sexual assaults. The shelter center in Kassala hosts 12,000 families, most of whom are women and children, living under harsh conditions.
Afag, a 17-year-old girl from Al-Jazirah State, fled with her cousin Samah after their families decided to escape for fear of sexual violence. “The harsh life in the shelter is better than being raped,” Afag said, adding that she is preparing for her high school exams but lacks the necessary textbooks to study.
Sahar, 22, recounted how she fled with her family from Sennar after the RSF looted their possessions, including her father’s car. While attempting to cross the Dinder Bridge, authorities prevented pedestrians from passing, forcing her to climb into a truck. She later realized she had left her mother and siblings behind. She walked back on foot and drank from canal water to quench her thirst, fearful of encountering soldiers.
A Tragedy Without Resolution
The war that erupted on April 15 between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces has displaced over 12 million Sudanese people, while the humanitarian suffering continues unabated. In Kassala, Um Salma, a mother of six, struggles to care for her children after losing her husband under unclear circumstances. With sadness, she said, “I don’t know if he’s alive or dead.”
In a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council, Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, described the situation in Sudan as “a crisis of staggering scale and brutality.” She confirmed that the human toll of the war, ongoing for over 20 months, continues to rise amid blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.
The war in Sudan is not just an armed conflict; it is a humanitarian tragedy casting a dark shadow over millions of women and children. The horrifying numbers fail to fully reflect the stories of suffering Sudanese people endure daily, with no resolution in sight.
