Sudan, the site of the world's largest humanitarian crisis, is being "abandoned" by the international community, a senior UN coordinator in the country told AFP on Thursday. The nation has been torn apart for three years by a war between the army and paramilitary forces.

"We should not call this a forgotten crisis. It is (a country) abandoned," said Denise Brown from her office in Khartoum, located in one of the few buildings still functional in a city center devastated by fighting.

"I am outraged (...) what is the world waiting for to wake up and undertake the same efforts as for other horrific and shocking crises elsewhere on the planet?" asked Ms. Brown.

She listed the systematic sexual violence, the 6,000 people killed during last year's takeover of the city of El Fasher (southwest) by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who have been fighting the army since 2023, a UN investigation highlighting evidence of genocide, and famines...

Ms. Brown acknowledged she often hears that the solution to the conflict lies within Sudan itself. "But the weapons do not come from Sudan. This conflict is fueled, and there are people profiting from the resources," she said.

The UN has repeatedly called on foreign powers to stop contributing to the war but has refrained from accusing specific countries. The regular army is supported by Egypt and Saudi Arabia and uses drones manufactured in Turkey or Iran.

A Difficult "Path to Peace"

Pointed out by critics, the United Arab Emirates denies having supplied weapons to the RSF, who are accused of genocide.

For Ms. Brown, "illegal flows of weapons" are reaching the country, despite a UN embargo established two decades ago in Darfur.

This vast western region of the country has been the scene of the worst violence, including invasions of displacement camps and repeated ethnic massacres that have claimed thousands of lives.

Since the fall of El Fasher, the fiercest fighting has been taking place in Kordofan, located between the RSF-controlled Darfur and the central axis of the country, held by the regular forces.

Almost daily drone strikes in Kordofan kill dozens of people each time, while famine threatens hundreds of thousands there.

Ms. Brown, who recently found herself trapped by fighting with a humanitarian convoy in the town of Dilling in South Kordofan, stated that "almost every day since, Dilling has been attacked, residents continue to flee in a trickle while the death toll rises."

The displaced are heading towards El-Obeid, further northeast, where the UN receives "reports of large numbers of children dying every day."

Ms. Brown estimates that 33 million people, out of a population of 50 million, need humanitarian aid in Sudan. She says the most difficult task is "finding a path to peace," beyond the pledges of around 1.5 billion euros raised on Wednesday at a conference in Berlin.

Diplomatic efforts led by the "Quad" (United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt) have so far failed.

AFP