While global attention has centered on conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Sudan is experiencing what has become the world’s largest displacement crisis, with approximately 12 million people forced from their homes since April 2023.
During a December 11 hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chairs the subcommittee, described the situation as dire. “Sudan is under the darkest of clouds, a catastrophe that has, for far too long, been met with paralysis by the international community,” Smith said in his opening statement. He called for an immediate end to hostilities between Sudan’s warring factions.
Smith added: “Crimes against humanity — particularly by the Rapid Support Forces — including mass rape, ethnic targeting and systematic looting, must be investigated, and perpetrators held accountable.”
The conflict escalated after a power-sharing agreement between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) collapsed in April 2023. Both groups had previously cooperated under former leader Omar al-Bashir but have since engaged in violent clashes. The fighting has led to high casualties; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, reported that drone strikes on December 4 in South Kordofan killed 114 people—including 63 children—when a kindergarten and nearby hospital were hit. “Disturbingly, paramedics and responders came under attack as they tried to move the injured from the kindergarten to the hospital,” Tedros stated.
Medical organizations such as Sudan Doctors Network have attributed these attacks to RSF forces. International observers say access for aid workers remains restricted due to security concerns and actions by both sides; humanitarian workers have been expelled or targeted.
Caroline Rose of New Lines Institute told Fox News Digital: “The war in Sudan has been one of the most gruesome humanitarian catastrophes in world history. However, there has been frequent paralysis by world leaders and international institutions to solve it, in addition to reduced, fluctuating media attention on the conflict.” She suggested this may be because there is less great-power competition involved compared with other global conflicts.
Reports indicate that more than 30 million people require humanitarian assistance across Sudan while about 21.2 million—roughly 45% of its population—face acute food insecurity. Estimates on deaths vary widely; Tom Perriello, former U.S. special envoy for Sudan, said up to 400,000 people may have died since violence erupted last year.
Chris Smith currently serves as U.S. Representative for New Jersey’s 4th district—a position he has held since replacing Frank Thompson in 1981—and lives in Manchester Township after being born in Rahway in 1953.
For further details see https://www.foxnews.com/world/world-fixates-other-wars-sudan-sees-12-million-forcibly-displaced-devastating-conflict