When fighting erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, 25-year-old Arafa was at home alone with her two young children. “I spent the night in fear, unable to go out of my house, as people were being killed everywhere,” she said, worrying about how she would protect her five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. Panicked by the sounds of shooting and warplanes flying overhead, she tried calling her husband at work, only to learn from friends that he had been shot dead. No time to mourn With no time to mourn and no clear plan, she fled Khartoum with her two young children in a desperate bid to escape. Setting out by bus, she arrived in Madani, a city 135 kilometres southeast of Khartoum, where a local man offered to help them leave the country. Together with five others, they were driven to Port Sudan, the country’s main eastern seaport. From there they walked for a whole day before finding transport towards the Egyptian border. “I was scared, tired, and without hope,” she said, noting that she spent 80 hours without food or water. “The road was difficult, and the continued sound of gunfire was deafening. I did not think we would make it. I was holding my children in my arms, fearing the war, the journey to asylum, and the long road ahead.” Nowhere else to go After crossing the border, they were eventually driven to Cairo and dropped off in a square in the unfamiliar city. With nowhere else to go, Arafa and her children spent the night on the street. Arafa said that in the morning, a South Sudanese woman was passing by and saw her. “She advised me to go to the office of UNHCR and register with them,” she said, adding that her family is now registered for assistance with the agency and is living with the kind South Sudanese woman. ‘We are together, with the refugees’ Like the other countries neighbouring Sudan that have been impacted by the conflict, Egypt already hosts a large refugee population. With UNHCR operations in these countries already acutely underfunded, the refugee agency said increased support will be vital to respond to the humanitarian needs of those fleeing the violence. That includes about 60,000 Khartoum residents that have fled the city for safety. Randa Osman, an assistant field officer with UNHCR, provided an update from the Shagarab Refugee Camp in eastern Sudan. “Despite the ongoing conflict, we are together, hand by hand, with the refugees, listening to them, and being with the people we serve in all situations in Sudan,” she said. Amid airstrikes, armed attacks, and urban warfare, more than 100,000 Sudanese have already reportedly escaped into neighbouring countries, with their harrowing stories echoing the plight of tens of thousands of others who are frantically fleeing, since fierce fighting between rival military groups began on 15 April. Devastating chaos For Marwa, who was preparing breakfast for her 11-month-old son in their home near Khartoum airport on that morning, life changed in an instant. The humanitarian worker had planned on that Saturday to welcome home her husband from a trip ahead of Eid celebrations. Instead, after days of devastating chaos, shooting, and violence, she wended through embattled streets to find a way to escape. Grabbing a few belongings, including some medication and some clothes, she joined thousands of other families fleeing for safety. Her journey from Khartoum to Egypt was a stressful, exhausting mix of heat, hunger, fear, sleepless nights, and mosquito bites, she said. Now in a safe place, Marwa said she feels helpless, unable to help those who have remained behind. “As a person working in the humanitarian field, it was very hard for me to see this situation but be unable to help,” she said. “My husband is still in Kassala, and we have no idea how we’ll be reunited. We’re still trying to work that out.” Fleeing with nothing “We fled Sudan for Chad,” said Halime Issakh Oumar, who is now a refugee. “We want to be safe. There is no security. We came with nothing, not even food or something to drink.” The stories of Arafa, Marwa, and Halime mirror those of almost 21,000 Sudanese who sought refuge in neighbouring Chad. Another 10,000 Sudanese have fled to Central African Republic, and, as of Thursday, 47,000 have escaped to safety in Egypt, according UN reports. In these countries as well as neighbouring Ethiopia and South Sudan, thousands of men, women, and children are arriving, some after perilous journeys, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and other UN entities. Assisting growing numbers of refugees Africa’s second largest refugee-hosting country, Sudan hosts more than 1.14 million refugees. Before the onset of the conflict, more than 3.7 million people were internally displaced, and now, there are many more, UNHCR said. As the warring military factions have repeatedly broken fragile ceasefire agreements, several UN agencies say the numbers of refugees will continue to grow. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is currently recording more than 1,000 daily arrivals in Ethiopia, where the majority – 39 per cent – are returning Ethiopians, and 17 per cent are Sudanese and third country nationals from more than 50 other countries. Raghuveer Sharma, who moved to Sudan from India in 2021, had worked at a steel plant outside Khartoum at the outset of the conflict. For a full week, armed groups had entered the premises daily, looting and firing weapons indiscriminately, taking a hostage, and demanding vehicles and mobile phones, he told UN News. “We made a plan that as soon as armed groups entered the guest house, we would not let them come inside,” he said. “As long as we had vehicles and mobile phones, our lives would be spared.” Grateful for being evacuated, he said he hopes the situation in Sudan returns to normal soon. A ‘perfect storm’ The UN estimates that as many as 270,000 Sudanese could end up crossing the seven international borders of the 48 million-strong nation – the third largest country in Africa. UNHCR said on Thursday that the agency is expecting an outflow of 860,000 refugees and returnees from Sudan. The World Food Programme (WFP) warned of “a perfect storm” in Chad, where the influx of refugees is unfolding weeks before the onset of the lean season between harvests, which is expected to leave an estimated 1.9 million people severely food insecure. Pounding rains arriving about the same time, threaten to turn swathes of desert into rivers, imperiling deliveries of key food assistance to the refugees and other vulnerable groups, the agency said. “It’s a perfect storm,” said Pierre Honnorat, WFP Country Director and Representative in Chad. “The lean season coming in June, and the rainy season that will cut off all those regions.” Everything lost ‘in the blink of an eye’ The Sudanese people’s stories paint a somber picture of how conflict can instantaneously shatter lives. A 16-year-old Sudanese girl had made it across the Chadian border to safety. “I would love to go back to my country,” she said, “but only if we are safe there.” While many have managed to escape the fighting and reach safety, Arafa said her own family’s future feels far from secure. “I can’t believe I am here in Egypt now, but I am still afraid of everything,” Arafa said. “I need help. I am afraid of the future. I lost my home, my husband, and my country in the blink of an eye. I don’t want to lose my children too. I want them to be safe.”   UN in action Across the border towns lacing Sudan, UN agencies are working to help those in need. Here is a snapshot of some of what is happening on the ground: In Chad and Sudan, UN agencies are bringing in more than 70,000 core relief items from its global stockpiles. In Egypt, the UN is conducting an assessment mission on the needs of people fleeing Sudan. The UN and the Egyptian Red Crescent are delivering water, food, wheelchairs, and hygiene and sanitary kits to new arrivals. A social media account and website run by UNHCR offers up-to-date information for refugees in Egypt. UNHCR launched a preliminary inter-agency regional refugee response plan on Thursday to address urgent financial needs as soon as possible, which requires $445 million to support the displaced until October. At border crossings, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provides families with essential items and medical services. IOM is providing such support services as transportation and accommodation to refugees and returnees at border areas, where the agency has set up transit centres. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) continues to support partners to provide life-saving health care, distribute supplies for safe births, and to manage obstetric emergencies through a network of midwives. WFP provides assistance in the region, and it is urgently appealing for emergency funding, including at least $145.6 million to continue supporting newly arrived and existing refugees in Chad, along with host communities.   This article first appeared in UN News. 

We must work together to formulate a clear vision to achieve the aspirations of the Sudanese people, bringing back security, peace, and the establishment of a civil state where all citizens are equal, and opportunities are provided regardless of their gender, ethnic, religious, or tribal backgrounds. Those are the words of Samia Argawi, a lawyer and founder of “Women Against War” and member of the “Peace for Sudan Platform”, a peacebuilding initiative by Sudanese women-led organizations and initiatives supported by UN Women.  Since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces broke out on 15 April 2023, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured. UN reports have found that gender-based violence has increased during the conflict, and the humanitarian situation has significantly worsened, with food prices peaking and limited access to water and electricity.   The Peace for Sudan Platform comprises more than 49 women-led peace initiatives, humanitarian initiatives, and civil society organizations, featuring representatives from across the different regions of the country.  Soon after fighting broke out, UN Women and partners including the African Union, the African Women Leaders Network, at the request of the Peace for Sudan Platform, organized a virtual high-level solidarity mission to support and amplify calls to end the conflict, highlight its impact on women and girls, and mobilize support to women’s peacebuilding and protection efforts.   In late October, shortly after the conflict passed its six-month mark, UN Women in partnership with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), African Union, and International Women's Peace Center organized a conference with Sudanese women peacebuilders in Kampala, Uganda.   The conference included consultations with more than 400 women across 14 Sudanese states about their priorities and demands and aimed to build bridges between women in Sudan and in countries across the region. Women joined online from Sudan and in-person, with many refugees and exiles attending.  The conference also aimed to enhance women’s leadership and highlighted the leading role Sudanese women and young women are playing in mobilizing the peace movement.   A long history of peacebuilding  “Sudanese women have their own narrative of resilience and determination as agents of peace”, said Adjaratou Ndiaye, UN Women’s Sudan representative. “Conflict and displacement have never shaken their mission for peace, as we witness this gathering today and recognize all the women-led peace initiatives and responses on the ground and in other parts of the world”.  Many women joined Sudan’s 2019 revolution, which saw the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir after 30 years in power. Women were able to organize protests and support young people throughout the upheaval, and their activism was highlighted by alternative media outlets that arose after the revolution. But 2019 represented just one episode in a long line of women’s work for peace and justice in the country.  “Since the founding of Sudan 67 years ago, the women of Sudan have always stood out as a beacon of hope and the voice of reason during the successive crises that have faced the country”, said Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of IGAD.  “Let us remember the wise words of our African proverbs: ‘When men go to war, it is women who must pick up the pieces’”, he said. “Together, we can empower the women of Sudan to be the agents of peace and rebuild our shared nation.”   Calls for an immediate peace  Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Suzan Hussein, a Sudanese woman activist living as a refugee in Uganda said, “This war should stop as soon as possible not just in Khartoum, but also in different areas in Sudan”.   “For me, this conference means a platform and a [form of] resistance. A platform in which I can represent the diversity of women in Sudan”, Hussein said, adding that she hoped the conference could link “different groups of women in order to create a feminist agenda” and resist violence against women.  Women-led organizations in Sudan have the expertise and experience to work on sensitive issues including gender-based violence and to provide services to women, girls, the elderly, and those with disabilities.  “Men do not consider our participation a priority, and they do not respond to women's demands for participation in negotiations”, said one woman activist whose anonymous testimony was presented at the conference.  “We are capable of representing ourselves on any platform, and we do not want men to speak on our behalf”, she said.  Another woman whose name was not disclosed to protect her safety was quoted in testimony as saying that existing women’s programming was difficult to continue during the conflict. While she was formerly able to provide kits to sexual violence survivors, “now we cannot reach the survivors to assist them”.  The current war is a manifestation of wider political, social, and economic forces. Argawi noted that peace was intimately tied with combating “poverty, marginalization, and discrimination, [and] creating a healthy and resilient environment”.  “We also hope to work together to develop a political consensus among the components of the people, a consensus that holds the recipe for political, economic, and social success”, Argawi said.   She explained that, only by developing agreements among all political actors, could the peace process “ensure the continuity of this approach, healing wounds, mending the fabric of our society, and injecting life into the nation's veins”. 

Written by Mohamed Elamin “We fled into the unknown with no destination in mind,” says Awadeya Mahmoud, describing the night in April when the sound of an explosion woke up her family of ten. By dawn, they and the people living near them in their south-Khartoum neighbourhood decided enough was enough, and fled the capital. A worsening security situation is making it increasingly difficult for the World Food Programme (WFP) to reach the 6.3 million people it intends to this year. Since conflict broke out in the country on 15 April, it has reached 1.5 million with critical supplies, including 40,000 children aged under-5, pregnant and breastfeeding women. Two days after the bombing, Mahmoud and her children made it to Albageir village in Gezira state. “The war displaced my whole family and my children never healed from the horror they felt,” she recalls. “They refused to eat or drink. They were just crying.” At the time, the family were out of money and had to sell what belongings they could to finance their journey to safety. “I fled my home together with my neighbours to arrive in Albageir [village] before reaching Wad Madani,” says Mahmoud, who leads a cooperative of women caterers, including tea vendors like herself. “I had to sell [many of] my belongings to be able to take my family to safety,” she says. Continued fighting in Sudan poses a threat to the current planting season and to farmers who are already struggling to cope with soaring prices of fertilizers and seeds. When Mahmoud and her neighbours arrived in Madani, 186km from home, finding a place to sleep was extremely difficult. The city was already filled with displaced people from the capital, Khartoum. Luckily, the families she had arrived with found a house to cram into with a total of 37 children. With basic shelter in place, the problem of hunger persists. A third of Sudan’s population was already food-insecure before the war, according to WFP. “We seriously suffered, we had a food problem and some of the children suffered from fevers and measles,” says Mahmoud. She is among 24,606 people that WFP has assisted in Madani through its new hub in the city. Using food from WFP, Mahmoud put her skills to work and started cooking for fellow displaced people. “We are on full stomachs now,” she says of the families who escaped with hers. “I was given flour, oil, and yellow split beans. Gezira is among 14 of the 18 states where WFP has assisted people in the past few months, alongside, for the first time, the River Nile and White Nile states. While many people have made it safely out of Khartoum, thousands of families remain trapped in conflict areas with no access to food and other basic needs. “My cooperative alone has 150,000 members and I am hoping that WFP will be able to help them,” says Mahmoud. “What WFP is doing is not easy. It's what we need the most in Sudan because you’re mobilizing food around the world for people,” says Mahmoud.  “Humanitarian needs have reached record levels and there is still no sign of an end to the conflict,” says Eddie Rowe, WFP’s Country Director for Sudan. “WFP is doing everything possible to deliver life-saving assistance to millions of people in Sudan, but insecurity and access constraints are restricting us from reaching more people, especially in Khartoum and West Darfur.” The conflict has caused severe damage to critical infrastructure nationwide, and access to food, water, cash, fuel, healthcare, and other basic services has been fractured. Moreover, razed and looted markets, broken transport networks and dysfunctional markets have strained food availability. In West Darfur, the situation is alarming with reports of ethnic violence against civilians. Insecurity is making humanitarian access to Sudan’s most food-insecure state nearly impossible. WFP urgently requires US$410 million for its operations in Sudan to ensure immediate life-saving assistance to conflict-affected people like Mahmoud and her family.