People in Blue Nile, Sudan are suffering. They face many challenges and HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) visited the region earlier this month, meeting community leaders, activists and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Earlier this month HART visited #BlueNile in #Sudan. Crowds of demonstrators used the opportunity to ask the world for help. #ForgottenPeopleofSudan pic.twitter.com/r1q01CySF9
— HART UK (@HARTnews) January 25, 2018
Acute shortages of food and no access to healthcare or education are resulting in overwhelming manmade need and suffering. We can read in the report by HART:
The Sudanese people have experienced near-constant conflict and instability over six decades of independence. In Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, the Government of Sudan (GoS) has targeted civilians with aerial bombardment, missile attacks and ground offensives. These assaults are directed at schools, churches, mosques and marketplaces–targeting indigenous Africans, moderate Muslims, Christians and traditional believers. The attacks they suffer are largely unreported and aid organisations are restricted from working there leaving the people neglected and without aid or advocacy. A ceasefire was agreed last year. Despite general cessation of aerial bombardment, we heard of continuing overflying by GoS aircraft causing fear, panic, disruption of activities and displacement of civilians.
The report mentions the lifting of the US sanctions and its consequences:
There are two issues of concern regarding the political situation in Blue Nile. First, the lifting of the US sanctions in October 2017: there are reports that the GoS have been using the associated increase in resources to increase their military capability, including a build-up of armed forces and missiles on the northern Blue Nile border. This is fuelling the suspicion that the ceasefire will not last and that the Khartoum regime will use this time for consolidation of its military position to continue to impose their Islamist agenda.
Read full report on this page.
We must not forget these conflicts and we retweeted this tweet by Waging Peace abourt HART on Holocaust Memorial Day. We should never forget.
Well done Baroness Cox & @HARTnews for continuing to raise the forgotten conflicts in the Nuba Mountains & Blue Nile #Sudan. So important on a day like #HolocaustMemorialDay #HMD2018 #ThePowerOfWords https://t.co/D7ueCE5o8V
— Waging Peace (@WagingPeaceUK) January 25, 2018
