We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese refugees who fled the violence in Sudan's Darfur region and newly arrived ride their donkeys looking for space to temporarily settle, near the border between Sudan and Chad in Goungour, Chad May 8, 2023.
Fears of mass killings rise in Darfur
Genocide once again threatens to devastate Darfur as the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces encircle El Fasher, the last city in North Darfur not under the paramilitary group’s control.
The United Nations warned this weekend of imminent attacks on El Fasher’s 800,000 residents and hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced by Sudan's year-long civil war, a situation that human rights investigators describe as having the potential for“Hiroshima- and Nagasaki-level casualties.”
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterressaid, “The world must act swiftly to prevent a potential genocide in the region.”
Eight and a half million Sudanese have been displaced since conflict broke out in April 2023, with 25 million at risk of famine nationwide. The RSF has been accused of massacres and mass rapes, most notably in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina, where 10,000-14,000 people were killed inethnically targeted attacks last year against Black African Masalit and other non-Arab civilians.
Now, echoes of Darfur’s2003 famine, which stemmed from the same ethnic conflicts, have resurfaced – but with competing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, aid workers fear the world once again will not pay attention until it is too late.File Photo: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit attends the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) 42nd Extraordinary Session, at the State House in Entebbe, Uganda January 18, 2024.
As oil stops flowing, South Sudan risks crisis
South Sudan’s main oil export pipeline has been caught in the crossfire of the brutal civil war ripping across its northern neighbor, threatening the country’s economy and power structure. The fighting means engineers can’t access the pipeline to repair damage, so South Sudan declared “force majeure” earlier this month, essentially absolving it of certain contractual obligations.
South Sudan is the least developed country in the world after Somalia, according to the UN’s Human Development Index, and some 90% of the country’s revenue comes from oil exports. Between two thirds and three quarters of its exports pass through Sudan, from which South Sudan broke away in 2011.
But very little of that revenue benefits ordinary citizens, as it is largely directed into “special projects” overseen by President Salva Kiir, who has been accused of corruptly diverting the funds. Experts told Al-Jazeera that Kiir uses the funds to pay off a tiny elite, who in turn keep him in power.
With the oil taps shut for the foreseeable future, South Sudan will likely face a currency depreciation, worsening the already grim economic situation. Without money to pay off elites, Kiir could also face a power struggle, particularly with (admittedly dubious) elections expected in December. Juba may not even have the cash to hold sham contests, which could spark unrest.