Norwegian Refugee Council leader warns Europe about neglecting Sudan

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is worse than Ukraine, Gaza and Somalia – combined, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council charged.

“There are 24 million lives at stake here in Sudan,” noted Jan Egeland, NRC’s secretary general, in an interview with dpa following a trip he made to western Darfur and other areas.

“We’re looking at a relentless countdown to famine and despair and collapse for an entire civilization.”

Conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East, he asserted, should not distract from the suffering of the people in Sudan.

“If we all agree that human life is as equally valuable wherever you are in the world, then Sudan should be on top of our list of concerns now.”

Destroyed homes and burnt neighbourhoods
Egeland witnessed the consequences of the conflict, which has been ongoing for almost 600 days.

He said he saw in many neighbourhoods – including in ones in which the NRC had previously worked “the very clear signs of a horrific war. And house after house, neighbourhood after neighbourhood, burnt, destroyed, and looted.”

Sudan has been embroiled in a bloody power struggle since April 2023 between ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. More than 11 million people are on the run within Sudan and neighbouring countries. Serious crimes against humanity are reportedly being committed by the conflicting parties, including ethnic displacement in the Darfur region.

Egeland warned a situation is “brewing” like in 2015, when millions of refugees from war-torn places, including Syria, crossed the Mediterranean and showed up on European doorsteps.

“I don’t think Germany and the European Union and Scandinavia and France would like that.”

Not only would investing in Sudan help keep people form seeking better opportunities elsewhere, but doing so “is the only thing” that conforms to European ideals and interest, he said.