The country exploded. Terrible consequences. “No more muscle. Just bone.”

The world’s attention is focused on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but the situation in Sudan is no less worrying. The country is digesting One of the greatest humanitarian crises on Earth. It is unclear what exactly is happening in the capital Khartoum or in other cities Two warring armies cut off Sudan from the world. There is no western media on the site. At least several journalists have been killed, newspapers have suspended their operations, and there are problems accessing the Internet across the country.

The small amount of information being leaked around the world is shocking. On May 9, 2024, Human Rights Watch reported that a genocide may have taken place in the city of Junaina in western Sudan against Masalites and other non-Arab populations of the region. Mass graves were discovered in the city. According to the United Nations, as many as 15,000 people may have been killed there. People. Total number of war casualties is unknown, but estimates range as high as 15,000. As U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Tom Perillo said in early May, Up to 150 thousand

– This country exploded. The situation is dire – says Dr. Wilk o2.pl.

The rest of the article is below the video

War broke out on April 15, 2023. It began with an attack by the rebel Rapid Support Force (RSF) on government buildings in the capital, Khartoum.

The Rapid Support Force, mainly composed of Janjaweeds, meaning armed Muslim militias, formerly on the side of the government. During the war in Darfur (2003-2020) – referred to as The first war fueled by climate changeBecause under their influence, Muslim nomads moved into non-Arab populated areas, leading to conflict – RSF soldiers were used by the government to kill and displace agricultural populations in South Darfur.

Janjaweed burned villages, killed men and kidnapped women and children. However, when the war ended in Darfur, armed Janjaweed troops were cut off from their source of income. This led to a revolt against the central government. Now they are fighting for control of the country with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Fatah Abd ar-Rahman al-Burhan.

The RSF is led by General Mohamed Hamdan Tagalo, also known as “Hemeti”. He and General Al-Burhan maintain close ties with Russia. “Hemety” was the last politician to visit the Kremlin before Russia invaded Ukraine – a day before the attack on February 23, 2022. Russia’s Wagner Group, a gold miner in Sudan, has been accused of supplying missiles to the RSF.

The fight is fierce. – The government of Sudan does not control half of the country. Even capital is partly controlled by the government and partly controlled by the RSF. There are still fights on the front, but this front is not a straight line. The picture is very confusing, says Dr. Wilk.

– Refugees in South Sudan say the capital Khartoum is no more, only ashes – he adds.

Sudan is a large country – its area is approximately 1.9 million square kilometers (Poland’s area is approximately 312.7 square kilometers – six times less), and the population is about 50 million.

The war caused a great crisis. Half of the population – approximately 25 million people – are in need of humanitarian assistance. About 7 million people had to flee their homes to other parts of the country, and about 2 million fled to neighboring countries.

However, the possibilities to help refugees at the Sudanese border are very limited. Egypt does not want refugees from Sudan and the border is practically closed. The border with Ethiopia is dangerous due to fighting in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, while access is problematic due to the long distance to N’Djamena, Chad’s capital. No one in their right mind wants to escape to Eritrea, one of the most autocratic countries in the world.

Many refugees choose South Sudan is the youngest country in the worldGained independence in 2011. For some, it was practically a return home – they had previously moved to Sudan and lived there for years. But now they can’t survive, so they run away.

Mothers often walk hundreds of kilometers with their childrenTo reach South Sudan. There are no other ways to get there and the two countries are connected only by a few roads. Only after crossing the border is a truck hired by the UN likely to take the refugees further to their families.

However, there is a problem here. – Families in villages usually grow food that lasts only 9-10 months. The remaining 2-3 months are defined as the famine period and adults living in South Sudan are able to survive this difficult pre-harvest period due to leaf and root pulp. However, when instead of one family feeding three people, two of them are from Sudan, suddenly there is only enough food for 3 months. The remaining 9 months of hunger will last. Unfortunately, we see the effect of this in our nutrition center. Currently, 50 percent of children there are malnourished. This is a dramatic statistic – says Dr. Wilk.

The Polish Center for International Assistance (PCPM) runs a nutrition center in Kordim, South Sudan. With the attention of the world and humanitarian organizations now focused on the war in Ukraine and more recently Gaza, aid is at an all-time high, resulting in the bulk of aid funds flowing from areas such as South Sudan.

Enough in the meantime Over PLN 6 to provide food for a whole day to a malnourished child. A therapeutic meal based on peanut butter costs only PLN 2.1. Treatment usually lasts 3-6 weeks.

Funds used to buy food for children through PCPM come entirely from Polish donations. Payment can be made by: www.pcpm.org.pl/sudan.

The needs are high and the statistics are growing at an alarming rate. In 2017, the number of children in the Kortim feeding center… Critical stage of malnutrition197. In 2022 there were 540 of them, and in 2023, the year the war broke out, there were already 944. In addition, 3,175 children were in need of nutritional treatment.

– A quick way to measure malnutrition in a child under 5 is to check arm circumference. Tape is used for this. If the circumference is less than 11.5 cm, the child is malnourished. Some have a circumference of 9.5 cm. Now there are no muscles. Bare bones – says Dr. Wilk, who just returned from South Sudan.

It is the circumference of Agut’s arm – 9.5 cm. The girl is 2 years old and weighs 5.9 kg.

– We wanted to give Agooth peanut butter, but at the same time we wondered if he would be able to eat it. If the child cannot eat, food must be fed through a tubeAnd this is already a big challenge. It is very difficult to bring the child out of this malnutrition. We have never faced such a difficult situation before – says Dr. Wilk.

– The girl came to South Sudan with her mother, who is from here but spent her whole life in Sudan. The mother was so weakened by the bushwalk that she had nothing to feed her daughter. Both of them were sitting – the mother who could not even lift her arm and the malnourished child. We took them to the hospital, he said.

The situation in South Sudan is dramatic. 9 million people – 72 percent of the population – are in need of humanitarian assistance. Most residents have no income and cannot afford anything. And prices will only go up. In recent years, the country has struggled 80% inflation.

South Sudan It has large oil deposits, but they are exploited by their neighbors from the north and have no opportunity to export oil to other countries. At present there is no question of importing anything from Sudan. In the past, South Sudan imported from its neighboring countries. wheat or diesel fuel. Now he imports goods from Uganda or Kenya, making it even more expensive.

warns Dr. Wilk The crisis in this part of Africa could have consequences not only for neighboring countries but also for Europe. – Sudan is not far from our continent. Historically, people moved from Sudan to Libya. He says this path remains open.

On May 13, 2024, The New Arab reported RSF is already cooperating with Khalifa Haftar, the most influential warlord in Libya.. This cooperation includes human trafficking. RSF members hand over Sudanese to Libyans, who press their relatives for ransom. Or forced to work without pay. Victims of human trafficking are often subjected to torture.

Even more people will be willing to flee to Libya – and from there perhaps to Europe. Because the crisis in Sudan is getting worse.

– The situation comes to this Sudan can be considered a failed state. The term refers to countries where the government does not control the entire area and cannot function normally or ensure the safety of the people. This leads to the creation of a war economy, where both those in power and some businessmen believe that a war situation is more profitable than a non-war situation. Therefore, says Dr. Wilk, they no longer care about ending the war.

– This was the case, for example, in Afghanistan or Somalia. The key now is to prevent Sudan from becoming such a place. It actually intimidates him, he adds.

Łukasz Dynowski, journalist at o2.pl