It has been about a month since the violent armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the national army, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, occurred in Sudan in northeast Africa on April 15. We asked Mr. Koji Sakane, Director of the Sudan Office, who returned to Japan at the end of last month, why the clashes broke out in Sudan, which was supposed to be undergoing a transition to civilian rule, what the local situation is like, and what assistance is being provided by JICA.
Japanese return home safely, but that’s not the end of the story.
At the end of April, amidst the continuing fierce fighting in various areas, especially in the capital Khartoum and the Darfur region, nine Japanese employees of the JICA Sudan office left the region and returned home. However, Director Sakane said, “The evacuation of the Japanese is not the end of the story. What we will do as a development cooperation organization is the critical point,” he said with a somber face.
According to OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), more than 930,000 people have been forced to evacuate inside and outside the country as of May 15. In Khartoum, in addition to shortages of food, water, and fuel, communications have been disrupted, banking systems and medical facilities have malfunctioned, and many citizens are at risk.
There are still Sudanese staff members who have been working with us in the region. I want to do everything I can to ensure their safety and the safety of the Sudanese people who have been left behind,” says Sakane. Currently, he continues to provide the Sudanese staff with daily information on the war situation and security in the region via SNS and other means from Japan, and he is also making efforts to ensure their early departure to the neighboring country of Egypt.
The city of Khartoum before the military clashes
Democratization at a standstill due to conflict between regular army and militia groups.
As an origin of this clash, Director Sakane pointed to the Bashir regime, which collapsed in 2019. 30 years of dictatorship from 1989, President Bashir was ousted following popular demonstrations demanding democracy. However, under his patronage, the Janjaweed, now the RSF, a militia that committed genocide during the Darfur conflict, rapidly expanded its power.
After the fall of the Bashir regime, a transitional democratic transitional government was established, and a framework agreement was reached in December 2022 for the formation of a transitional government. Just as the democratization process seemed to have finally reached its final stage, the two sides came into conflict over the pending integration of the regular SAF and the paramilitary RSF, which is believed to have been a factor in the latest armed clashes.
With no prospect of a conclusion in sight, Mr. Sakane expresses his frustration, saying, “I must say that the road to democracy is far from over. However, we want to continue to support the people of Sudan, not the military or politicians, but the people of Sudan, who have worked hard to restore their country.
Director Sakane explains the current situation and the background of the clashes at a study session for journalists held on May 12.
Aiming to Develop Administrative Officers to Support the Nation
Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan has been repeatedly ruled by armed forces through popular uprisings and military coups. In order to rebuild the living infrastructure devastated by years of conflict, JICA has continued to provide assistance, mainly in the areas of healthcare, water and sanitation, agriculture, and the environment (waste disposal), with the aim of “developing administrative agencies and government officials who can better serve the people.
One of these is the strengthening of the national health insurance system. Due to the prolonged civil war in Sudan, there is inadequate health care and the infant and maternal mortality rate is high. and maternal care have been expanded.
(Left) Village midwives practice assisting in childbirth at a midwife training program (Right) The project to strengthen the national health insurance system has been working with Sudanese government officials to reform the system.
In agriculture, a key industry, the company is focusing on irrigating the Nile River basin and supporting farmers’ farming. The government is also working to strengthen rice cultivation and develop wheat varieties that are resistant to drought and high temperatures. In addition, we are implementing the “Sudan’s Clean City Project,” in which garbage trucks depicting characters from the popular Sudanese manga “Captain Tsubasa” collect garbage in a Japanese-style “fixed-point collection” system. The project has contributed to improving the quality of life of the people.
(Left) Groundnut harvested through an irrigation project in the semi-arid River Nile State (Right) Predicting the effects of climate change on wheat cultivation by installing weather observation equipment
Garbage collection with “Captain Tsubasa” stickers on collection trucks
Continued interest and support for Sudan
Sudan is bordered by seven neighboring countries, and on the other side of the Red Sea is Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Since ancient times, the country has been home to a diverse range of people who have come and gone, and it has also been blessed with the rich blessings of the Nile. Even today, Sudanese people are very considerate people, as evidenced by the water fountains that are freely available to passersby in every part of the city,” says Sakane.
Director Sakane (front left) and staff interact with a group of women farmers they have supported in eastern Sudan.
However, the economic stagnation caused by the long civil war has resulted in high unemployment, and it is said that 70% of young people hope to leave the country within three years. The G7 summit is about to be held in Hiroshima, Japan, and I hope that it will lead to further discussion on the state of the international community, which cannot be stopped from ruling by force. We are no longer in an era in which it is enough to be secure in one’s own country. For the future of Japan, we would like to continue to support the development of Sudan,” says Sakane.
© Source JICA
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