Crowds of those seeking rescue swell at Sudan's main seaport

  • last year

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Transcript
00:00 It is a long journey. Without the pit stops and tense moments at checkpoints manned by armed soldiers.
00:06 Travelling the 800 kilometres from Khartoum to Port Sudan takes at least 13 hours.
00:13 With babies on laps, many on this bus though are relieved. They've managed to flee.
00:19 People coming from Khartoum are escaping the war and trying to find safety and security.
00:24 They arrive under very difficult circumstances.
00:27 Some who have passed through here don't have food, some are sick, some are very old.
00:33 Amidst continued fighting, the humanitarian situation in Sudan is escalating.
00:38 Already, according to the United Nations, 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries since fighting began April 15th.
00:46 And that figure could soon balloon to some 800,000.
00:50 But that doesn't include the some 300,000 of internally displaced Sudanese in the last three weeks.
00:57 The ways out are many and dangerous.
01:00 Be it from Khartoum east to Port Sudan, currently the main escape route via road then boat.
01:06 Or there's the road north to Egypt.
01:09 Already 40,000 have crossed at its increasingly clogged border checkpoints.
01:13 And then there are scorching journeys south to neighbouring countries.
01:17 Already before the fighting broke out, a third of Sudanese relied on humanitarian aid.
01:22 Now the need for food, water and shelter is staggering.
01:26 With the UN pleading for help.
01:28 The 1.75 billion joint appeal for Sudan in 2023 is only 14% funded.
01:36 In other words, UN humanitarian organisations and our partners are facing a funding gap of 1.5 billion dollars.
01:43 The World Food Programme has begun providing aid again in Sudan.
01:47 After some of its staff were killed.
01:49 Doctors Without Borders has managed to get a delivery of food to the capital.
01:53 But they know that so much more is needed.

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