At least 4,000 people have died and another 6,000 have been wounded since fighting broke out between troops loyal to Abdel-Fattah Burhan, commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and to Mohamed Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces. Nearly 25 million people in Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance. Millions have been displaced, with many seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
“It’s estimated that nearly 400,000 people have crossed into eastern Chad from Darfur since the conflict began,” said United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited the border between the two countries on September 6. She noted that despite the heroic effort of the government of Chad, local communities, and non-governmental workers, too many refugees still lacked food, water, health care, and other essentials.
A crisis of this magnitude requires a global response, and the United States is committed to doing our part to aid the people of Sudan, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. “First, we are taking further action to support the victims of this conflict.”
“Today, I am announcing that the United States is providing nearly $163 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Sudan and neighboring countries, including Chad,” she said.
These funds will go toward providing people in need with food, water, sanitation, health care, and other essentials. The money will also go toward protection of vulnerable groups, including women, youth, older persons, and survivors of violence.
Second, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, “the United States is taking action to hold bad actors accountable by sanctioning Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo – a senior commander in Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and the brother of RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo – for his connection to abuses by the RSF against civilians in Sudan.”
At the same time, the U.S. Department of State has imposed visa restrictions on RSF General and West Darfur Sector Commander Abdul Rahman Juma for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“The reported atrocities in Darfur are an ominous reminder of the horrific events that led the United States to determine in 2004 that genocide had been committed in Darfur,” she said. “But it has been disappointing to see how little attention this brutal conflict has received from the international community.”
“Less than 30 percent of the 2023 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan has been funded,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. “That’s shameful. And I am calling on the international community to do more and give more.”
