Sudan announces opening of border crossing for humanitarian aid
Sudan will open the Adre border crossing with Chad for humanitarian aid for a period of three months. This was announced by the ruling council of de facto leader Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan on the X platform. Adre is the largest border town in eastern Chad.
A severe humanitarian crisis has been ongoing in Sudan for 16 months due to the bloody power struggle between al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The country is on the brink of famine, with more than ten million people displaced by fighting and bombings.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), more than 25 million people in Sudan are at risk of starvation, which is about half of the total population. Aid organizations have been calling on the conflicting parties for months to allow access to the needy people. Especially in the Darfur region, aid supplies can only be delivered via Chad.
Currently, talks are underway in Switzerland to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. The goal is to achieve a ceasefire to bring more humanitarian aid to millions of people in the country. However, al-Burhan's army has not sent a representative.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly held a phone call with al-Burhan on Wednesday evening (local time), in which he emphasized the need for participation in the talks and an end to the conflict.
The international community is urgently pushing for the reopening of all border crossings between The Sudan and its neighboring countries, especially Chad, to facilitate the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. Due to the ongoing instability in The Sudan, the Adre border crossing has significant importance, as it's the primary route for aid supplies to reach vulnerable populations in the Darfur region.
