In Sudan, volunteer humanitarians are targeted by both sides

Guest blog by Rebecca Tinsley

Millions of civilians in Sudan's war depend on neighbourhood Emergency Response Rooms for food and medical help. However, the volunteers running these groups are targeted for kidnap, torture and rape by militia on both sides of the conflict. The Emergency Response Rooms were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize last year, but this does not protect their dedicated helpers from violence, or provide much-needed funding.

A campaign has been launched to support the 800 Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) serving Sudan's besieged civilians. Often providing operating rooms in people's basements, the ERRs have appeared spontaneously wherever hospitals and clinics are destroyed. Respected human rights groups accuse both warring militias of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure since the conflict erupted in April 2023.

For most of the war, both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the opposing Rapid Support Forces have prevented aid reaching 30 million people (out of a population of 50m) whom the UN believes are in desperate need of assistance.

Sudan is the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 150,000 dead; 13 million have been displaced; and three million children are at risk due to disease and hunger, according to the UN.

The campaign, the Sudan Emergency Room Response Fund (SERF), is the umbrella group formed by Sudanese-British doctors and women's organisations. They are strictly non-political, refusing to take sides in the two-year-long conflict in which former allies - the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces - now battle each other for control of Sudan's lucrative gold and livestock trade.

The SERF launch meeting in London heard from Rania Sulieman, a Sudanese-British pharmacist and psychologist from Sudanese Women for Peace. She recounted the story of a friend running an Emergency Response Room in a contested area. The woman had been abducted, tortured and raped by the occupying Rapid Support Forces who accused her of aiding their enemies in the Sudanese Armed Forces. She was finally freed and returned to run the Emergency Response Room. However, when the Sudanese Armed Forces captured her town, their allies abducted her, tortured her and raped her as punishment for allegedly helping their enemies. Sulieman told the meeting that this was common, with humanitarian volunteers being targeted with false accusations, and aid stolen or withheld by the militias.

Although some aid is finally being allowed into Sudan, most conflict zones remain isolated from the international humanitarian efforts. The UN's operations in Sudan are underfunded, with only 10% of the required donations secured. In addition, bureaucratic barriers are put in the way of aid agencies, with food used as a weapon of war.

In contrast, SERF's launch meeting was assured that donations will go directly to the Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan using electronic money transfer services. SERF also guarantees a transparent system of accounting for donations and dispersals.

Tom Periello who served as former US President Biden’s Sudan envoy has described the volunteers staffing the ERRs as “the real heroes of the Sudan war.” He has pointed out that money from the international community is still not getting through to the ERRs.

Meanwhile, human rights groups report that the war is being sustained by arms shipments from outside countries. The UN accuses the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of sending weapons to the Rapid Support Forces. It is believed that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are arming the Sudanese Armed Forces. On a recent visit to the UAE, President Trump agreed to sell them $1.4 billion worth of arms.

Please visit https://SERF.org.uk to learn more about Sudanese diaspora efforts to support emergency medical and food efforts in Sudan's conflict areas.