Sudan's conflict has unleashed a crimewave. It needs to end

Smoke rises after an aerial bombardment in Khartoum on Monday. Weeks of fighting in Sudan have led to a breakdown in law and order. Reuters

It is impossible not to be moved by the harrowing stories of thousands of Sudanese people fleeing the conflict raging in their homeland, and the many more caught in the fighting. This week, The National reported from the Qastal border crossing on the Egypt-Sudan frontier, where men, women and children were desperately trying to reach safety.

Among them was Nizar Al Warraq, a father of six from Khartoum, who along with his family spent two and a half hours trying to get out of the capital and reach a ferry that would take them across Lake Nasser to Egypt. “Now, we don’t know what to do. Stay in Aswan or carry on to Cairo,” he said.

Mr Al Warraq is among the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese who have faced peril not only from the fighting itself but from the lawlessness that has accompanied the country’s terrifying collapse. Reports have claimed that India's embassy in Khartoum has been stormed and looted. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said early on Wednesday its cultural mission in the capital had been ransacked by an armed group, and a British MP has told the House of Commons that UK citizens were beaten and robbed as they tried to reach evacuation flights.

As supplies of food and medicine run out, international aid – including from the UAE – is arriving but its distribution is challenged because often it is too dangerous to transport it to where it is needed. Last week, more than 4,000 tonnes of food were looted from the World Food Programme’s storage sites in Sudan. At least 10 vehicles and six lorries for transporting food aid were also stolen.

Even medical aid meant for children is not off-limits. On April 17, looters made off with supplies as well as laptops and cars during a raid on Save the Children's offices in Darfur. The danger posed by looters and bands of rogue fighters has forced many aid agencies to suspend their operations or leave Sudan altogether. In a country where 15.8 million people are food insecure, according to the WFP, this becomes a matter of life and death.

Ultimately, the responsibility for this lies with the armed factions whose conflict is not only ruining Sudan’s economy, infrastructure and political process but is also reducing this strategically important country to a state of complete collapse. Although the warring sides have agreed in principle to a seven-day ceasefire that is due to begin today, they have a responsibility to the Sudanese people to swiftly end the anarchy that has been unleashed. That means restoring law and order on the streets and punishing any personnel found to be looting.

None of this will be easy but the diplomatic opportunity for an end to the fighting is there. Unlike some other conflicts, there is near-unanimity for an end to hostilities, with the Arab League, regional countries, the African Union, the UN, EU and the US all calling for a ceasefire and talks.

But for stability to return, there needs to be more than just an absence of violence. Sudan’s people, the aid workers who serve them and foreign missions need to feel that they can go about their business without being robbed at gunpoint. Without law and order, the suffering of Sudan’s people will be compounded and many more, like Mr Al Warraq, will pack their bags and flee, if they can.