Star Metro - UN Sudan chief says country 'abandoned' after three years of war

"People shouldn't call this a forgotten crisis -- that's almost offensive. It's abandoned," Denise Brown, the UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator, told AFP from her office in Khartoum, one of the only functional buildings in the capital's post-apocalyptic city centre.

She called on the international community to put more focus on the country, which is the size of France, Germany, Italy and Spain combined, boasting more than 50 million people and a wealth of resources that have drawn foreign powers into the war.

"You can't forget about Sudan," the veteran humanitarian said.

"I'm outraged," she added, listing atrocities documented by the UN.

Those include systematic sexual violence, 6,000 people killed in three days in the RSF's takeover of El-Fasher city last year, a UN probe that found hallmarks of genocide, and sieges causing famine across the country.

"My question is, what is the world waiting for to actually wake up and make an effort the way we have seen in other horrendous, shocking crises around the world, where people go out into the streets in capital cities and denounce what's going on?" she asked.

She said she believed outside forces were prolonging the war.

"The weapons don't come from inside Sudan. There is something driving this conflict, and somebody is benefitting from the resources," she said.

The UN has repeatedly called on foreign powers to stop fueling the war, but has not accused specific states.

On one side, the army has been backed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and deployed Turkish and Iranian-made drones.

However, most of the blame has been pointed at the United Arab Emirates, which denies evidence it has funnelled arms to the RSF, who have been accused of genocide.

There is a persistent "illegal flow of weapons," in violation of a UN arms embargo on Darfur in place for two decades, said Brown.

Darfur, a vast western region that alone is the size of France, has faced some of the worst violence, with displacement camps invaded and repeated ethnic massacres killing thousands at a time.

- Children dying in Kordofan -

Since the RSF takeover of El-Fasher last year, the fiercest fighting has shifted to the Kordofan region, which links RSF-controlled territory in Darfur to Sudan's army-controlled central axis.

Near-daily drone strikes on Kordofan have killed dozens at a time, and hundreds of thousands are on the brink of starvation across the region.

Brown was part of a humanitarian convoy that reached the South Kordofan city of Dilling after a paramilitary siege was broken earlier this year, but her team was trapped when the city came under attack again.

"Practically every day since then, Dilling has been attacked, and residents continue to trickle out as more people are killed."

Many of those leaving are heading to El-Obeid, where tens of thousands have sought shelter.

Now the UN is receiving "reports of high numbers of children dying every day," Brown said of El-Obeid, where she is heading this week.

Sudan is facing more than a humanitarian crisis, she said.

With 33 million people in need of aid, Sudan has seen "the deliberate wiping out of any access to basic social services and human rights."

But the hardest part is "finding a pathway to peace," she said.

Diplomatic efforts have mostly been led by a so-called Quad, made up of the countries seen to hold the most leverage over the warring sides: Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

But those efforts have faltered amid reports of tensions in the group, and there is no current peace initiative.

While Brown said "very generous donations" totalling 1.5 billion euros pledged at a Berlin aid conference on Wednesday were welcome, not enough was being done to stop the war.

"The inertia around this is perplexing," she said.

D.Cameron--SMC