Messages from Sudan's war

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1:43Hello, this is Andrew Peach. Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. In BBC OS Conversations, we bring together people to share their experiences and this time we hear from Sudan and families living through civil war. The conflict in Sudan broke out in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces or RSF. Few people in the country have been left untouched by the catastrophe that's since unfolded. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the violence. At least 12 million have been displaced and there have been accusations of genocide.

2:26Through our conversations, we'll try to give you a sense of the impact of the war on people living in Sudan. They share stories you might find upsetting. Later, we'll also hear from representatives of aid agencies struggling to reach those most in need in a conflict that many feel the world has ignored. 27 months after the civil war began, Sudan is split into rival areas of control. The Sudanese army holds the north and east of the country, including the capital Khartoum, which it recaptured earlier this year. The front lines between the army and the RSF are in the south and the western Darfur region.

3:07We'll hear first from El Fasha in north Darfur, where some of the most intense fighting has been taking place. The RSF captured the nearby Zamzam displaced persons camp earlier this year. It's since tightened its siege of Al-Fasha. Few can get out and aid can't get in. Here are some of the messages we received from people in the city.

3:35We have arrived from Zamzam. The rapid support forces expelled us. My name is Yahya Osman Mohamed Suleiman. We came from Zamzam and we have no food to eat. We just eat umbas or cattle feed and chew it like animals. We need the United Nations to give us food to carry airdrops. We are daforis, we are Sudanese people. We have no food to eat. Flour is expensive, sugar is expensive, biscuits are expensive, firewood is expensive there's some traders might feed us one meal and others hide their goods please have mercy on us and give us food may god have mercy on you please deliver food by airdrops may god grant us patience and lift this calamity

4:35My name is Manasik. We are hungry and have nothing here in our fascia. We only have animal feed and now it is finished. Traders are storing it and we have nothing to eat. We are hungry and suffering. They are killing us slowly. The children are suffering from tummy pains and there is nothing in the market. We need food. We appeal to foreign states to support us. We have nothing to eat. The United Nations needs to carry an airlift to bring us medicines and specially food.

5:08We came from Zamzam. We had to run to get here. Our kids were all killed. They killed all my sons and now I have no one. We arrived here hungry and are only eating animal feed. and now even that is running short. We need food to be dropped. We are really suffering here. If we try to leave and get away, they will kill us. There is nothing to eat. Traders have stored everything there is. We are so hungry, we are dying. Please feed us. There is no food, no medicine, nothing here. The rapid support forces are not allowing us to pass. They will beat and humiliate those trying to flee. They will kill them.

5:54they will cut them and throw them on the side of the road. We have nothing to eat and we are suffering very much. Messages from the besieged city of El Fasha giving a sense of the desperate situation many people in Sudan are facing. My colleague Mark Lowen brought together two people displaced from their homes by the war. Abdul Rashid is currently in central Darfur and Isra left the Sudanese capital Khartoum when it was taken by the RSF. She's now living in nearby Omdaman. It was terrifying, bombing and shilling over our heads. It was bad, you know, it was scary. Just the markets start to shut down, the beginning of lack of food and life supplies.

6:44We're leaving our home behind, running out in order to find safety places. Since that time and until now, we're still struggling for the safety and basic necessities of life, for example, food and clean water and medical care. It's improving here in Umdurman for like six months now, especially after declaring the liberty of Khartoum from RSF. Everything just not quite good before that. There was a random bombing and shielding from the RSF. They're targeting citizens in schools and hospitals. It was really bad and terrifying, but now it's very, very remarkable removing here in Omdurman. Did you lose any friends or loved ones or family?

7:39That was the beginning of the word. I have a cousin. Actually, she was a doctor and she was all over the news. She was one of the first casualties at the war named Dr. Ala. She was my cousin, Katha Khasso. Yeah, that's it. But it is bad. I see a lot of people lose and lost their loved ones. I lost a lot of beloved people. My father had died through this war. So sorry for you. Yes, also so many people, we just lost them, some of them because of war and some other reasons because of love or food and medical care. Do you think that there could be peace or do you think your country is going to split in two?

8:36Oh my God, it's a very hard question. I hope that peace will come over all over the country, but the RSF is just not stopping, you know, making fights and making life more difficult. It's like it's already separating, but I hope not. I just want to say that we are human, we are not in numbers. I want the world to remember that we are real human beings. We need peace, education and a chance to rebuild our life again. I believe that we can rebuild Sudan again and be raised. And that's my message to the world. I just want to say to Abdul Rashid, I really feel you. We are the son of Sudan. I hope this situation for all of us and soon, I really, really have deep, you know, supporting feelings for you and all your families and people of Darfur.

9:43Yeah, thank you so much. And I hope you and advise you to be strong. we can rebuild our life again and we can be together. Sudan is the one and we can be able to do that. Thank you so much. Thank you, Tiro. Isra and Abdul Rashid, two people displaced by the fighting in Sudan, sharing their experiences. I'm Andrew Peets. You're listening to BBC OS Conversations from the BBC World Service.

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11:37This time we're hearing how the civil war between the Sudanese army and RSF is affecting people in Sudan. The RSF has its origins in the notorious Janjaweed militia. The militia was accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arab population after they brutally targeted civilian communities across the region in the early 2000s. Similar accusations have been made against the RSF and today many people in Darfur believe the RSF wants to transform this ethnically mixed region into an Arab rural domain, effectively dividing Sudan into two separate administrations. That's something we'll pick up in our next conversation.

12:21I've already mentioned the Zamzam refugee camp near Al-Fasha. In April, a major RSF assault on the camp forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee. The RSF has issued a statement denying widespread allegations of targeting civilians in Al-Fasha, claiming that local armed groups in the city are using civilians as human shields. Maz in Uganda and Karim in Sudan both have relatives there and tell a different story. Mark asked Karim what the situation in Sudan is currently like for him and also for his family living in the camp. People are suffering a lot. There is a shortage of water as well as lack of food, and lack of life needs, basic life needs.

13:07They are vulnerable and at any time can be attacked by RSF. At any time, they, you know, intimidate them with gunshots and bombardment and different machine guns. So they are suffering, definitely. There is no any humanitarian assistance for them for now. And there's no access to leave the place. Even at the moment I'm talking to you, there is a gunshot around me here. It's not very far. Stay safe, Karim, with the shots around you as well. And I'm so sorry to hear about what your family is suffering from. Maz, tell me what has happened, please, to your family in Zamzam. Before the attack, they come and they burn the market.

13:49And they start just shooting people and they kill people actually badly. They had blocked the camp. There's no food to enter to the camp and there's no medicine. People had been thanked by the lack of food, lack of medicine. Then after that, those people, they started bombing the camp by the heavy weapons. They started bombing every day, like one week. Then after that, they burned all the market, all the food we see is there. Then they entered the civilian houses. They started killing people. Actually, one of my family, she got injured by the ref support. She got shot in her legs and my younger sister, she burned badly there because of the rape support.

14:38They threw them on the fire when the fire just burned in the house. They threw them there. They threw my young sister and my young cousin. He's just 10 years old. He got so many injuries because of the fire which is there. Just to be clear, you are saying that the RSF forces are killing, are targeting people, are targeting non-Arabs, like has happened in Darfur years and years ago from the Janjaweed, the predecessor of the RSF. Are the attacks now, is the situation there in Darfur now as bad as it was 10-15 years ago when there was so much violence in Darfur? Yeah, definitely. As you see, those people are targeting the non-Arabs.

15:29They are, you know, actually killing them and intimidating them because of a scenic background, because of a scenic racial discrimination is taking place. They are doing this because they consider that all those black people are suspicious. And even those who didn't be able to leave their place, all the people, they stay there since the beginning of this war. They consider them as spies and as criminals and trying to send, you know, a message. Those are innocent civilians. They have nothing to do with the war, but they are targeted. In addition to that, there is a hunger. Some of my family's kids have died because of the result of hunger.

16:19And we couldn't find any response from United Nations and humanitarian organizations are no longer working here. and there is no access to go from place to place. You see people are trying to get out. My family, they are trying to get out from Zandam to come to Tawila, but unfortunately there is no way. Even if you are going on food, you will be intimidated, you will be threatened, and most probably you will be killed. The situation is not conducive for a human to live. Do you have any hope that there can be an end to this war, there can be peace, or do you think your country is splitting in two, dividing in two?

17:07There is no hope for my country because of this tragedy war. And it is sure that this country is going to be divided. So there is no hope for local community. There is no hope. And there is no even rescue from international community. They are doing nothing. Until now, there is not any vision that they can help those vulnerable people because they don't have food, they don't have weather, there is no education, no health services. Simple, basic life needs are nothing. People want to get out from the place even though nothing is going on. Absolutely, it's not going to be easy for them because now the country is already going to be divided to governments and there is nothing here.

18:00I want to add more. My brother is right now in Al-Fashir. And recently I was talking to him. I asked him what is the situation there. He said that the situation there is very bad. There's no food. There's no medicine. There's no water. And for us, we are blocked. I asked him, is there another way to run away from there to come to us? He said there's no way. Because when you want to live from there, the RSF support, they will find you there on the road and they'll kill you. Maz and Karim. According to the UN, almost 25 million people in Sudan are facing acute hunger, with famine declared in several parts of the country.

18:41The medical charity Doctors Without Borders has warned that Sudan also faces the worst cholera outbreak the country has seen in years. The disease is spread through contaminated water and there have been nearly 100 ,000 cases over the past year with almost two and a half thousand deaths. With the country's health system on the point of collapse, the fighting means aid organisations are struggling to reach people most in need. Both sides have been accused of deliberately blocking access for humanitarian aid, using it as a weapon of war. These problems are compounded by recent funding cuts to international aid, particularly by the United States.

19:22For our final conversation, we brought together Abdirakman Ali from Care International, Osean Van Kolan from Action Against Hunger and Odette Tambara from Save the Children. As we all know, the conflict has been going on for 27 months now and we're seeing so many children who have been displaced, malnourished and are basically dying of diseases that are preventable. We know that the cholera cases are being reported or being suspected in multiple regions now outside of Khartoum, where we're now seeing in the Darfur states, in Tawila, in Golo. These are new cases that are being reported. We are also seeing fuel and supply shortages in areas in greater Darfur and the greater Port of Fun, where supply routes, due to the seasonal rains and insecurity, is impending a lot of humanitarian access and service delivery.

20:25And finally, I would say that in many areas as well, we are seeing that families are surviving without shelter or clean water or enough food for the whole family. I think here we ought also to emphasize on the fact that it's one of the largest displacement crisis in the world right now. Imagine more than the population of London being forcibly displaced from their home. Definitely the malnutrition rates are terrible. We have famine that has been officially declared in some areas of Sudan right now. Less than a million people, especially children that are then just being malnourished, so they could die without urgent support.

21:07Again, I would like to emphasize on the health facilities because even though 80 % of health facilities are completely destroyed, the funding cuts that we saw this year also had a huge impact on the response that the INGOs and the humanitarian actors are currently doing. I fully agree with colleagues. This conflict has disproportionately affected particularly women and girls who are the most vulnerable population segment. Access to food, clean water, health, nutrition is very much limited, particularly in areas that have been impacted by the conflict to a bigger scale. We are talking about in the Darfur areas, the greater Darfur states.

21:50We are talking about Khartoum and the corridor funds. Obviously, CARE, alongside other actors, is providing access to these services, health, water, food and cash for people to meet their immediate needs. But due to the funding levels that have been reducing the last couple of months, we are not able to cope up with the demands for these services by the population. Our teams in Darfur, for example, in South Darfur, continue to see women who have been working for days carrying malnourished children, sometimes for weeks even, to arrive at the nutrition centres in Nyala in South Darfur. Some look in so much malnourished that they can't even carry the babies on their back.

22:30This is the reality that we face every day in places like Darfur, particularly in South Darfur where care is responding in this crisis. Access is restricted, funding is shrinking and the risks are real. But we do remain committed, I would say. And on a personal level, it is really both heartbreaking and humbling to be able to witness some of the families that are struggling after visiting one of the field offices. So just seeing this and daring weakness reminds me or reminds us that what we are doing is not in vain because you're able to see the worst of human suffering, but it's also the best when it comes to human resilience.

23:13I would say that I would feel frustrated many times when I find supplies that are critical for a health facility cannot move or permits are denied or delayed. And I know very well that those supplies are there to save lives. Every mother or girl or child that arrives in that health facility is seeking for this help. And every minute that passes, we are talking about saving a human life. It means a lot for a Sudanese woman or girl that is coming to the health facility or a nutrition center. It means a lot for her because that is a question of life and death. And when the supplies are not there, we are talking about losing human life.

23:54And this is why, as CARE, we call for the parties to the conflict to ensure that they give us unhindered access to the population so that we are able to provide these services with the little resources that we have. even as we ask for the international community to not forget Sudan and provide resources to this response. You come across so many stories that just touch your heart and stick with you. For me right now, I would say what comes to mind is we have a father of four who lost three of his children from cholera. And these are young children of 12, 8 and 5. it's just one of those things where you think how a parent has to go through first of all the cholera itself and all the symptoms that comes with it then to see your children dying one child survived and his wife also survived but it's these things that remind you that the work that we do as INGOs and as local responders it does matter in the lives of so many and I would just leave you with the quote that he shared with us, I thought I had lost everything, but the care my daughter receives gives me hope again.

25:07And that to me just gives you the idea of the resiliency and the dignity that comes with a lot of the Sudanese community who are not able to support themselves with the basic needs in their communities. The woman I met in Zanigay, where we are currently operating through mobile clinic and health facilities, She arrived in Zalenge after eight days of traveling by foot with her seven children without anything to eat or drink on the way, just relying on the support that she might have found from other persons traveling with her. She arrived in one of our health facilities and the children were so horribly malnourished.

25:55It was terrible. It was heartbreaking. And what she said was what struck me the most. She actually said that she would want us to let the world know about what's happening right now in Sudan. Because she mentioned that the world has forgotten us right now. Our family, our children are dying and no one cares. Osean, Odette and Abdi Arachman from the aid charities trying to help people in Sudan. Thanks to them and to all our guests this week for sharing their experiences. I'm Andrew Peach and you've been listening to the documentary from the BBC World Service.