Syrians Face Death in Sudan Amid Clashes

Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (Reuters)
Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (Reuters)
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Syrians Face Death in Sudan Amid Clashes

Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (Reuters)
Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (Reuters)

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it was following with concern the developments in Sudan, a week after deadly clashes erupted in the country, killing 11 Syrians.

Syria is also following with great interest the situation of its nationals and the diplomatic mission in Sudan, it said.

State-owned Syrian News Agency (SANA) official news agency quoted an official source as saying that the Ministry instructed the Syrian embassy in Khartoum to register the names of Syrian community members wishing to be evacuated.

Syrian refugees residing in Sudan had sent out, via social media, distress calls to evacuate them from the troubled country.

A Syrian woman told Asharq Al-Awsat that she lost contact with her brother four days ago, who informed her earlier that the situation was challenging. She said he and his family were confined to their home without electricity, water, or enough food.

The woman was trying to find a way to help her brother out of the country, but that didn't seem easy.

Aside from the dangerous security situation, her brother cannot return to Syria because his passport has expired, and he is wanted by the Syrian security forces.

According to Syrian sources in Sudan, several Syrian workers were stabbed when they left their embassy in Khartoum on Friday. They also confirmed that the death toll had risen to eleven since the outbreak of the clashes a week ago; four of them were killed in an attack at the embassy five days ago.

Meanwhile, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Syrian Embassy in Khartoum, Bishr al-Shaar, stated that they were outside the embassy, and it was difficult to reach the premises due to the security conditions difficult situations.

Syrian website, Athr Press, quoted Shaar as confirming the difficulty of evacuating all 30,000 Syrians after Khartoum International Airport was closed.

He explained that other evacuation options included Port Sudan, which is a 15-hour car ride.

The official said that the embassy would prepare for the evacuation if airports were re-opened or land roads were secured, pointing out that the evacuation of 10,000 people to safe areas requires 50 planes or 200 buses.

Unofficial sources estimate over 90,000 Syrian refugees live in Sudan, mostly young men fleeing compulsory military service, and hundreds of families who oppose the regime.

Since the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011, Sudan has been at the forefront of countries that received refugees "without conditions," treating them as Sudanese citizens. Several of them were also given passports.

The number of Syrian refugees in Sudan in 2019 was estimated at more than 250,000. Many left the country after the toppling of the Omar al-Bashir regime, and the transitional government imposed restrictions on Syrians.

The Syrians were required to obtain an entry visa, and the Sudanese passports of 10,000 of them were revoked.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.