UN considering call for Ramadan truce in Sudan with millions in need of aid
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00:00 Britain is circulating a UN draft resolution calling for an immediate pause in hostilities
00:05 in Sudan. Hopefully, they are also in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
00:10 Sudan plunged into chaos last April when its military and the paramilitary
00:15 rapid support forces began fighting a civil war.
00:18 Now, over 25 million people in Sudan are veering closer and closer to famine.
00:26 For more on the situation there, let's bring in our regional correspondent, Olivia Bizo,
00:29 who joins me now live from Nairobi.
00:31 Olivia, first of all, what is the humanitarian situation like in Sudan at the moment?
00:36 The humanitarian situation in Sudan is not looking good and it's only getting worse.
00:46 And most of the world are unfortunately turning a blind eye to what is going on in the country.
00:53 The numbers are alarming. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the war broke out
00:59 almost a year ago now, and more than 8 million people have been displaced.
01:04 It's the largest displacement crisis in the world at the moment. And as you mentioned,
01:11 the World Food Programme has also recently published a report saying that if the conflict
01:16 does not end soon, the country is going to be facing the world's largest hunger crisis.
01:22 Currently, the UN agency has said 90 percent of the population are facing extreme levels of hunger.
01:31 But the main challenge or one of the biggest challenges at the moment in Sudan
01:35 is that aid is not getting into the country. The aid that is crossing the border into Sudan
01:40 is often getting looted while humanitarian workers are being attacked and their visas
01:47 are being rejected. So they're not allowed into the country. It's also incredibly difficult to
01:52 report about what exactly is going on in the country as foreign journalists are not being
01:59 granted visas. That's why I'm reporting about this situation here in Nairobi, as opposed to
02:05 from Sudan. Local journalists who are trying to report on what is going on in the country
02:11 are getting intimidated. There have been lots of attacks against local journalists,
02:15 and some of them have even been killed. So essentially, the world's largest humanitarian
02:22 crisis is taking place, mostly behind closed doors. And that's why it's so important to talk
02:29 about what is going on in Sudan as much as possible. It really is, Olivia. And thank you
02:35 for your reporting on that, even from there in Kenya, where you are. Let's talk a bit more about
02:40 the political situation in Sudan. The war began, just to remind everyone, April 15th, between
02:45 two warring generals. How is that situation evolving from a political standpoint, if at all?
02:51 Well, unfortunately, since the 15th of April of 2023, when the war broke out,
03:01 there has been pretty much a political standstill. There have been numerous
03:05 attempts of ceasefires, but so far, none of them have been successful. So how have we got to the
03:11 situation that we're in today? To better understand, let's rewind a little bit. So in 2019,
03:22 there was a civil uprising, which ousted the then leader of Sudan, General Omar al-Bashir,
03:29 and then a transitional government was put in place. And in 2021, two men overthrew that
03:35 government. Those two men were the head of the paramilitary rapid support forces known as HMETI
03:41 and the head of the army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. But those two leaders couldn't decide on which
03:48 direction the country should take. They couldn't agree on that. So the war broke out on the 15th
03:54 of April 2023. Now, since then, both leaders have been on various regional tours, and they say that
04:02 these regional visits are aimed at finding solutions to the ongoing conflict. But analysts
04:08 say that the real reason of these various international visits is to secure political
04:14 legitimacy and regional support. Now, what's complicated in Sudan now is that it's not only
04:20 becoming a regional conflict, but it's also becoming a global one as well, with the armed
04:25 forces being supported by countries, including Iran that's supporting the army with drones,
04:30 and the rapid support forces being supported by countries like the United Arab Emirates
04:35 that are providing financial support and ammunition. So analysts say that the only way
04:42 that this that long term peace is going to be achieved in Sudan is if both warring sides meet
04:48 at the negotiating table together. But unfortunately, that's looking increasingly
04:53 unlikely. And some say that the possible and a more likely situation is a sort of Libya scenario
04:58 where the country would be split between the two warring factions.