In brief
The Norwegian Refugee Council's Jan Egeland warns of Sudan's potential collapse into a failed state due to rampant violence and civil society disintegration. Over 10 million have fled as starvation looms, with urgent aid needed to prevent a humanitarian disaster.
War-torn Sudan is facing an ever-increasing risk of becoming a failed state, as highlighted by Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), during an interview with the BBC. He expressed grave concerns over the disintegration of civil society, which is exacerbated by a surge of armed factions competing for power. "Both the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are not alone; smaller ethnic militias are now operating, wreaking havoc on civilians," Egeland stated. The country has been engulfed in a violent power struggle over the past nineteen months, which has resulted in more than 10 million people being uprooted from their homes and driven towards near starvation.Egeland elaborated on the dire situation, saying, "This is the largest humanitarian crisis we have witnessed, marked by unprecedented levels of hunger and displacement.” His alarming comments followed his recent trip to Sudan, where he witnessed the deteriorating living conditions firsthand.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), starvation is widespread, with soup kitchens forced to shut down due to a lack of financial support. Egeland emphasized that the current humanitarian response is merely a stopgap measure that postpones inevitable deaths rather than offering long-term solutions. "Starvation has become a strategy of war," he asserted, predicting that up to 2.5 million people may perish from hunger by year's end if the situation does not improve.He criticized the global community for not taking adequate action to assist Sudan, asserting that failure to invest in humanitarian aid and protection could result in a refugee crisis affecting Europe. "Although this is the world's largest emergency, we are underfunded," Egeland cautioned.The civil conflict has claimed countless lives since its outbreak, with human rights organizations fearing potential ethnic cleansing and genocide could occur. Egeland urged that lasting peace can only be achieved when opposing warlords perceive more risks in continued fighting than in pursuing peace.
