A huge rally in solidarity with Sudanese victims of chemical weapons was organized May 18 in front of the United Kingdom parliament in London with calls for peace in the Sudan.
The demonstration gathered over 100 people from different European Union and UK organizations as well as a coalition of Sudanese human rights organizations under the “Sudanese peace forum” including Safe steps and Sudanese women for peace .
In attendance was also the Peace and Democratic Transition Organization that called for an immediate action to stop war in Sudan and to prosecute the Sudanese army for human rights violations. Representatives from EU human rights organizations invited the international community to stand up for the rights of the Sudanese People, stop the war and to end the suffering of civilians mainly women and children.
Film director and human rights activist Ms Deborah Paul highlighted that” Caught in the crossfire are millions of innocent civilians—and tragically, women and children have become deliberate targets.
“Rape is being used not only as an act of violence, but as a weapon of war. Girls as young as one. Boys. Mothers, grandmothers, daughters. Sisters, friends have all fallen victims. The entire communities are torn apart”, she said.
Ms Deborah hasted to add that there is need to act now and demand accountability for atrocities committed against innocent civilians.
“ We must amplify the courage of survivors and support the frontline organizations offering medical care, trauma healing, and protection. We must also name this for what it is: a crime against humanity”
Aye Soe Kari, President of International Burmese students ,youth activist and human rights defender pointed out that “Sudan is now the crisis of the world’s worst hunger crisis that barely makes global headlines.
More than 26 million people which, makes over half the country is facing food insecurity. This means children crying from hunger with nothing to eat and mothers skipping meals for days just for their babies can survive a little longer.
All images by Oscar-Luigi Veronese
In some areas, families are eating leaves from trees while other people are boiling water with rocks and pretending it’s soup to comfort their starving children.
In the camps, there is no milk, no bread, no fruit and People line up for hours in the heat waiting to be served a bowl of porridge which often is not enough to go around. As a result Children have swollen bellies and thinning hair which is classic signs of starvation.
Some families have been forced to eat the seeds they were saving for the next planting season which meansnthey might not be able to grow food next year.
But while people starve, aid trucks international help gets blocked by violence while farmers have fled their land. Markets have been bombed. Food prices have skyrocketed and what little help is available often does not reach those who need it most”
Abdelrahim Grein Adam ,the head of the Peace and Democratic Transition Organization addressed an urgent call to the international community to stand with the Sudanese population victim of chemical weapons.
He said the Sudanese army is no longer a national army. It is a criminal militia hijacked by radical Islamists, and partnered with extremist groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the remnants of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“These are not accusations but facts — documented by survivors, field reports, and the smoldering ruins of our cities. Chemical Weapons are used against children, families, hospitals, and markets. Invisible death sweeping into homes and lungs, leaving entire communities destroyed, ” he said.
Mohammed Momin, a Communication Officer at Safesteps organisation condemned the most notable violations against the use of chemical weapons in the army of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the capital.
“This brutal use of the Armed Forces affects the general population and the attention of organizations to defend human beings from the necessity of causing all urgency.
Mrs Fathia Elbushary ,President of Sudanese women of Peace called on the international community to stand with Sudanese Women and children as well as the vulnerable communities who are victims of violence , famine and displacement .
The use of chemical weapons, violence against women and children, and discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities—primarily the Christian minority—by Armed Sudanese forces were denounced by all participants, human rights organizations, journalists, and academics.
They also called for immediate action to end the war and to promote peace and dialogue between the various ethnic, religious, and political groups in order to end one of the worst humanitarian crises in history, which has left over 150,000 people dead displacement more than 14 million people and caused famine to almost 25 million people.
