حاكم إقليم دارفور: السودان يواجه خطر التقسيم

The governor of the Darfur region, Mini Arko Minawi, warned of the danger of dividing Sudan, accusing Sudanese officials of abandoning Darfur after gaining control over the central part of the country.

Minawi, who is the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement, spoke before a crowd of tribal leaders in Port Sudan yesterday (Friday) about "plans to divide Sudan," asserting that the people will work to thwart these plans. He emphasized that Sudan cannot be divided in the way that the Rapid Support Forces desire. He revealed that an ambassador from a major power—whose name he did not disclose—contacted him at the beginning of the war asking for his opinion on forming three governments in Sudan. He confirmed that if all parties opposing the Rapid Support project unite, it would be sufficient to prevent the formation of the parallel government (affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces).

Minawi stated that some Sudanese officials believe that controlling the states of Al-Jazeera and Khartoum is enough, arguing that the peripheral areas have been in conflict since before independence.

He pointed out that "there is a senior Sudanese official who believes that the war outside Khartoum is unimportant," stressing that Darfur is not just geography, but a region rich in wealth and resources, with populations intertwined with African countries.

The Sudanese army regained control over the states of Al-Jazeera and Khartoum and parts of the White Nile state during January and March, forcing the Rapid Support Forces to withdraw to Darfur and Kordofan.

Last Saturday, the Rapid Support Forces announced the formation of a parallel government in Sudan, a step that the United Nations had previously warned could threaten the unity of the country.

Meanwhile, activists in North Darfur warned that the city of El Fasher is currently experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises that Sudan has known since the outbreak of the conflict.

They confirmed that the city is rapidly heading toward a confirmed famine, amid a suffocating blockade imposed by the Rapid Support Forces, and a complete halt of the charitable kitchens locally known as "Takiya" in the absence of effective international response.

It is worth noting that the blockade of the city has entered its fifteenth month with no signs of ending the humanitarian crisis. The number of deaths due to cholera has risen to 49 in the past twenty-four hours within the displacement camps in the region. The cumulative number of infections since the outbreak of the disease in June until yesterday reached 2,719, while 93 were admitted to isolation centers, including 11 children.

In the neighboring West Kordofan state of the Darfur region, the Dar Hamr Emergency Room, a monitoring and follow-up group for humanitarian and security conditions in West Kordofan, announced that 250 citizens have been infected with cholera and 15 have died in the shelters where residents from the western and southern rural areas of the city of Al-Nuhud have fled after the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the area.

The General Coordination of Displaced and Refugee Camps in Sudan previously confirmed the spread of cholera in the Darfur region amid a concerning rise in displacement centers. It indicated that the total number of infections has exceeded 2,500, including 46 deaths.