As conflict rages around the nation, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has sent a team of disaster response specialists to the area to manage the humanitarian effort, USAID Administrator Samantha Power said on Sunday.
In a statement, Power said that for the first stage, the Disaster Assistance Response Team would be based in Kenya. She also added that the specialists are collaborating with partners and the worldwide community to determine the most pressing needs and securely provide humanitarian supplies.
According to Power, “the United States is organizing to increase assistance to the people of Sudan caught between the warring factions.”
Eight days ago, combat broke out between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in the death of hundreds of people and the isolation of millions of Sudanese without access to essential services.
Plans to restore civilian authority in Sudan have been derailed by the country’s abrupt descent into battle, which has also put an already destitute nation in danger of humanitarian catastrophe and raised the possibility of a larger conflict that may include other forces.
“Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan has resulted in hundreds of fatalities, thousands of injuries, and again another devastation of the Sudanese people’s hopes for democracy. People stranded in their houses cannot get life-saving medications and risk experiencing extended power, water, and food shortages, according to Power.
One-third of Sudan’s population, or about 16 million people, already required humanitarian aid to satisfy basic human requirements before to this outbreak of violence, so all of this suffering just exacerbates an already grim situation.
Power urged the parties once again on Sunday to uphold the truce for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, put a stop to the bloodshed, and adhere by international humanitarian law, especially by allowing safe and unrestricted access for aid and medical personnel.
Due to security concerns, the United States removed U.S. government employees from its embassy in Khartoum on Saturday and temporarily halted operations there.