MES Statement on the Ongoing War in Sudan

The Middle East Section calls upon anthropologists and scholars of Southwest Asia and North Africa to recognize, and call attention to, the man-made crises in Sudan engendered by the fighting that erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces on 15 April 2023. In addition to a high number of casualties and injuries, the ongoing violence has brought about a famine, led to the displacement of millions of civilians and the spread of infectious diseases, crippled the education sector, and been accompanied by sexual violence and other forms of atrocities.

Filippo Grandi, the UN Commissioner for Refugees, has characterized the level of suffering in the country as “truly unconscionable.” He added that “Sudan is the definition of a perfect storm: shocking human rights atrocities, with millions uprooted by this insane war and other wars that came before it. A terrible famine is looming, and severe floods will soon hamper aid deliveries even more. We are losing a generation to this war, yet peace efforts are not working.”

Since the war broke out, a conservative assessment estimates that 150,000 people have been killed, and around 33,000 others have been wounded or injured though rights activists believe that the numbers are much higher. In addition, UNICEF has estimated that nine million people have been displaced since the outbreak of the war, most of whom are living in abysmal conditions due to overcrowding and lack of facilities. There are also reports of sexual violence and other atrocities that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity according to rights groups. Moreover, the collapse of the health system has led to the spread of infectious diseases, in particular cholera which has claimed the lives of 430 people recently. Sudan’s health ministry has estimated that there are around 14,000 people who have infected with cholera. 

A recent report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has estimated that 755,000 people in ten states “face Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5),” and that 8.5 million, namely eighteen percent of the population, “face E