Harare, (New Ziana) – The Government of Sudan on Thursday said that the food security situation in the country was stable, and dismissed claims by several donor nations of an unfolding food crisis in the war-torn country.
In a statement, Sudanese Deputy Ambassador to Zimbabwe Waddah Elsheikh said while the country welcomed humanitarian support provided by donors and international organisations, the government continued to supply food and medicine even under the most dire conditions of war and aggression.
He said Sudan has not experienced a famine, despite the deliberate sabotage of its resources, the looting of its strategic reserves, the destruction of its essential infrastructure and the displacement of its citizens from agricultural production areas.
“Through its relevant agencies, the Government of Sudan is currently assessing the impact of rainfall shortages in certain areas – exacerbated by the El-Nino phenomenon, climate change, and the expansion of desertification – as well as the consequences of the killing of citizens and their forced displacement from agricultural zones. Based on these assessments, the Government has begun taking the necessary measures to promptly address food gaps in those affected areas.
“The Government of Sudan regrets the attempts by certain states and organisations to politically exploit the humanitarian situation in parts of Sudan. These actors seek to leverage these humanitarian conditions to advance their own political agendas, aiming to impose terms for a settlement under the guise of a humanitarian truce. In reality, such a truce would serve to rescue the rebel militia from its ongoing string of defeats, granting it a fresh opportunity to rearm and redeploy – thereby emboldening it to commit further atrocities, massacres, and acts of genocide, as previously witnessed in El Fasher and El Geneina,” Elsheikh said.
He added that the political agenda pursued by certain Western states – which utilised the humanitarian situation as a tool for settlement – effectively shields the rebel militia from further defeats and setbacks, as it allows them to enter negotiations while it continues to occupy territory and civilian infrastructure, while threatening the nation’s security and unity.
Elsheikh said this stands in clear violation of the Jeddah Declaration, which the Government of Sudan had accepted as the foundational framework for negotiations and ending the war.
The Deputy Ambassador highlighted that while the Government of Sudan reaffirms its ongoing commitment to cooperate with relevant humanitarian agencies, organisations, and bodies, it categorically rejects the politicization of the humanitarian situation to serve agendas for which certain states have been actively garnering support.
“The Government will continue to fulfill its constitutional duty to protect civilians and provide relief to those in need, in accordance with the interests of its people, the protection of its national territory and security and the preservation of its unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. It takes pride in its track record of facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to all Sudanese people – including those in areas under the control of the militia – through agreed-upon corridors, airports and border crossings from neighboring countries as well as from within Sudan,” he said.
Furthermore, Elsheikh said the government has facilitated the issuance of visas and movement permits for humanitarian aid workers and staff.
“Its relevant authorities work around the clock to resolve any issues that may arise regarding the shared commitments to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid,” he said.
He reiterated the Government of Sudan’s rejection of the exploitation of humanitarian aid to pursue political objectives that run counter to the interests of the Sudanese people and condemned the use of such aid as a cover to fund and strengthen the militia as well as the weaponisation of food in the war against innocent civilians.
New Ziana
