Do Not Ignore Sudan

Desperate messages are coming out of Sudan, where the ‘forgotten conflict’ between government and rebel forces is escalating into one of the most violent episodes of the 21st century.

As we speak, ethnic cleansing is being carried out by the RSF, the rebel forces, whose tactics are as brutal as they are efficient. An NGO director describes it like this: “They first encircle their target town or city, they weaken it by cutting off access to food, to medicine, to power supplies, the internet. Then when it’s weakened, they overwhelm the population with systematic arson, sexual violence, massacre and the destruction of vital infrastructure.”

That is exactly what is now happening in El Fasher, a town where a quarter of a million people are trapped and at the mercy of these murderers. A few days ago, these rebel forces attacked a maternity hospital in the city, killing more than 460 expectant mothers and newborns and abducting the medical staff.

Meanwhile the sexual violence against women is beyond description. Hala Alkarib, director of SIHA, and African women’s organisation, helps document it. She states the RSF systematically gang rapes women in their own homes, in front of their families. ‘Women’ can mean a female of any age, from small baby girls to elderly grandmas. Usually, three to seven men rape the girl or woman, often causing permanent debilitating injuries or even death. Nowhere is safe for them. They are also raped on the roads as they try to find water or food for their starving families, in hospitals as they look for medical care, or in the countryside when they try to flee the cities. Reports have also emerged of buildings where women are kept as sex- slaves and raped all day long by RSF soldiers, and of women who are forced to get pregnant to give birth to ‘Arab’ babies, (the RSF forces are Arabic, while the people targeted for genocide are from black African tribes).

This is a war fuelled by greed. The UAE are arming these rebel forces with Western made weapons, so they can gain more control over the goldmines in Sudan. So far, there has been very little decisive action taken by the international community to try to stop it or call the UAE to account. It is not so much a forgotten conflict, but one that is being deliberately ignored.

To make things worse, recent drastic cuts to the funding of humanitarian aid by Western nations has impacted NGOs in the region who focus on helping Sundanese refugees. Countless refugees have lost access to food help, and most care facilities for women and girls who were victim of sexual violence had to close.

It is a great temptation to stick our head in the sand because as individuals there is so little we can do in the face of such immense suffering. But that response, though understandable, is not a Christian response. We are not powerless. We have democratic representatives who can be called on to take action. We have money we can send to aid organisations who work in the region. There are plenty of Christian organisations to choose from. We can use our digital and church platforms to call attention to the situation.

And we can use the power of prayer.

Both warring factions in Sudan are Islamic. Christians are targeted by both sides, and many churches have been confiscated and used as army bases, with church leaders threatened or killed. Our brothers and sisters in Christ in Sudan need our prayer, particularly those who are displaced or trapped in cities captured by the RSF. They are in acute danger 24/7. But we can also pray against the powers of greed and violence, for world leaders to step in and for strength for those who work for peace. Whatever you chose to do, do not ignore Sudan.