Sudan keeps critical aid crossing Chad open to Darfur region as famine grows

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) – Sudan’s military-run government said Wednesday that a key border crossing with Chad will remain open to keep much-needed aid flowing into the Darfur region.

The decision regarding the Adre crossing follows a meeting with United Nations agencies and local and international aid agencies, the Sovereign Council that governs Sudan said in a statement.

The border crossing, which was closed earlier this year, was reopened in August for three months by the Royal Council to deal with the dire humanitarian situation in Darfur. Famine has been confirmed in the Zamzam refugee camp near al-Fasher, the capital of West Darfur province.

The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. International experts with the Hunger Review Committee warn that more than 25 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population – are expected to face severe hunger this year.

This war has also created the world’s largest displacement crisis, as more than 14 million people have been forced to leave their homes.

Crossing the Adre is a way of life. In the past three months, more than 300 aid trucks have crossed into Sudan, carrying aid for more than one million people.

Aid organizations on Wednesday welcomed the news of the expansion of the facility and urged all parties to stop interfering with humanitarian aid.

¨This decision, if supported and supported through simple procedures, can help 5.3 million children and families at risk of hunger,” Mathilde Vu, Sudan advocacy manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the Associated Press.

The international community must seize this moment and increase funding to speed up the response, he said.

_____

Mednick reported from Dakar, Senegal.