Ignoring Sudan war refugees 'will have catastrophic consequences': UN
Dubbed the ‘forgotten war’, the war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is a bitter power struggle.
Supporters and members of the Sudanese armed popular resistance, which backs the army, raise their weapons on a pick up truck during a meeting with the city's governor in Gedaref, Sudan, on 16 January 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries. Picture: AFP
GENEVA - Ignoring the refugees of Sudan's devastating conflict, which entered its third year on Tuesday, will have "catastrophic consequences", the head of the UN's refugee agency said Tuesday.
Dubbed the "forgotten war", the war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is a bitter power struggle.
"After two years of unrelenting suffering, the world can no longer afford to ignore this emergency. We must make every effort to bring peace to Sudan," Filippo Grandi said.
He added that two years of war have created what is now the world's worst humanitarian and displacement crisis, intensified by extreme cuts to international aid.
Senior international officials were gathering in London on Tuesday aiming to chart a pathway to peace, but without the presence of the warring parties.
More than 13 million people have been uprooted and tens of thousands killed, with both sides accused by the United States of committing atrocities.
There are also increasing fears that the tensions will spill over Sudan's borders and stir further instability in the impoverished Horn of Africa region.
"It's not just the Sudanese who have become invisible. The world has largely turned its back on the countries and communities that have taken in so many refugees," Grandi said.