The civil war that erupted in Sudan, North Africa, reached its third anniversary on the 15th (local time). In that time, at least 150,000 people have been killed and 11 million have been displaced. As allegations mount of mass killings in some areas and the food crisis intensifies amid the Iran war, criticism is growing that the international community is indifferent to Sudan's civil war.

On the 13th, Deniz Brown, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, said, “Why is the world focusing on other crises and finding solutions, but not doing so for this issue (the Sudan civil war)?” adding, “It is utterly unacceptable,” AFP reported. He labeled the Sudan situation “an abandoned crisis.”

The Sudan civil war began in 2023 with clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The two had joined forces to carry out a coup in 2019 that ended former President Omar al-Bashir's 30-year rule. After the coup succeeded, however, the military moved to fold the RSF into the national army, prompting RSF resistance and bloody fighting. The military now controls the east and north, while the RSF holds parts of the west and south, and the two sides continue to battle. There have also been reports indicating the RSF has carried out mass killings in places such as El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in the west.

Over the three years, deaths are estimated at 150,000 to 250,000, and the displaced at 11 million to 14 million. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 700 civilians were killed between January and March in clashes involving drones by both sides. UNICEF counted 245 children killed or injured over the same period.

The food crisis is also spreading. The UN declared “famine” last year in El Fasher and in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan. According to the US-based nongovernmental organization Action Against Hunger and others, many residents there are surviving on one meal a day or less, with cases reported of people subsisting on leaves or animal feed. Compounded by a broader pullback in overseas aid, about 42% of communal kitchens inside Sudan have shut down over the past six months, Islamic Relief said.

With more than half of Sudan's population28.9 million peopleexperiencing severe food insecurity, the UN Development Programme projected that if the civil war continues through 2030, an additional 34 million people could be pushed into poverty.

The Iran war is further worsening conditions in Sudan. The German NGO Welthungerhilfe recently said, “In Sudan, fuel prices have risen by up to 80%, and the prices of basic staples such as wheat have also risen by about 70%.” Rising delivery costs for relief supplies are also reducing the frequency of assistance. Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, also said that since Sudan imports most of its fuel and fertilizers from the Middle East, a long-term crisis for agriculture and food is a concern.

Germany held a meeting in Berlin that day, inviting France, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, and others to discuss expanding humanitarian aid and diplomatic solutions. Earlier, Tom Fletcher, OCHA's Director for Humanitarian Response and Emergency Relief, said, “This bleak and horrific anniversary means the international community has let another year pass without passing the test of resolving the Sudan issue.” Similar meetings were held in the United Kingdom and France over the past two years, but no diplomatic breakthrough has been achieved.