Sudan without respite: the rains that arrive will not be able to save the November harvests: and in the meantime the war continues

ROME (DIRE Agency) – “The rains should begin at the end of May, but the fear is that next November, regardless of the abundance of water, there will be very little to harvest.” This is what Entisar Abdelsadig says, originally from South Korfodan, the region of Sudan where the Nuba Mountains are located. The testimony, collected byDire Agency, develops from two different and somewhat complementary perspectives. On the one hand, Abdelsadig has knowledge of the places and facts, before and after the start of the civil conflict, which since April 2023 has pitted the army of General Abdelfattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his rival, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo known as Hemeti. On the other hand, there is experience in humanitarian assistance work, gained as a consultant for Search for Common Groundan American organization that also has an office in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan.

In South Kordofan there are not two, but three factions. In Sudan, the conflict has already forced over eight million people to leave their homes. Many, more than a million, also those who sought refuge abroad, beyond the borders of Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia or South Sudan. Abdelsadig focuses on the characteristics and impact that the conflict has had in South Kordofan. “Here the fighting factions are not two but three” underlines the consultant: “The fighters of the People’s Liberation Movement of Sudan-Northwho initially allied themselves with the communities of the Nuba Mountains and with the army against the paramilitaries”.

The eternal struggle for resources between nomadic Arabs and black farmers. In South Kordofan the conflict has merged with a traditional struggle for resources, first and foremost water and pastures. On the one hand, the Hawazma community, made up of semi-nomadic Arab farmers; on another the Nuba, black Africans, mostly farmers. “In my city, which is called Dilling, the latter asked for army support against the former: immediately there were bombings and 25 houses were set on fire.” Then there was the intervention of the RSF, in support of the Hawazma, with a dynamic similar to that seen further west, in the Darfur region.

The main issue: opening humanitarian corridors. “The first issue to be resolved is the opening of safe humanitarian corridors for the transport of aid” says Abdelsadig. “Even in South Kordofan the agricultural season is linked to the rains because there are no irrigation systems; furthermore, if the seeds do not arrive and if we continue to fight famine it will be inevitable.” The interview also talks about the international conference on Sudan hosted this month by France. According to Abdelsadig, the commitment to allocate two billion dollars to support the victims of the conflict is an important signal. However, compliance with the commitments undertaken must be monitored. “The ongoing fighting prevents us from working in the fields and threatens the delivery of aid” reiterates the consultant Search for Common Ground.”My city is now under full control of the army but things could change.

Food insecurity. According to United Nations estimates, Sudanese people experiencing food insecurity are more than 20 million, 42 percent of the population. According to the UN index named Integrated Food Security Phase Classificationthe hunger risk level is four on a scale of one to five.