Like an eagle that carries them aloft, the Lord alone led him.
Since civil war broke out in Sudan in April 2023 due to a power struggle between military factions, the country has descended into what is widely regarded as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced more than 11 million people, with over four million fleeing to neighbouring countries such as Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The death toll has exceeded 150,000, and approximately 25 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Conditions inside Sudan are dire. By December 2024, air strikes and heavy artillery attacks had killed more than 27,000 people and injured over 33,000 others, most of them civilians. In particular, in the Darfur region, RSF-affiliated militias have carried out systematic massacres targeting non-Arab communities. Around 17.7 million people are facing severe hunger, including 4.9 million who are on the brink of famine.
Since April 2023, more than 844,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad, over 90 percent of whom are women and children. The reality in refugee camps in eastern Chad is harsh. Refugees receive only five litres of water per day—far below international standards—and just 14 percent of shelter needs are being met. In the Tiné refugee camp, 29 percent of children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition.
Most alarming is the lack of mental health support. More than 25,000 refugees are in need of psychological care, yet resources are severely inadequate. Counselors from Doctors Without Borders report that patients speak of witnessing the massacre of relatives, seeing corpses during their escape, and enduring torture.
Even amid this desperate situation, survivors are helping one another. In the Tulum refugee camp, Sudanese women survivors have organised small peer-support groups, creating spaces where they can share their wounds and experiences. Fatimah Fadul, who leads the group despite being a refugee herself, encourages women who have survived sexual violence and abuse to break the silence imposed on them and to overcome social stigma.
Basma, a survivor of sexual violence, and her younger sister were captured by RSF-affiliated militias while fleeing el-Fasher and were tortured for several days. In el-Fasher, mass killings and widespread sexual violence have been reported, prompting a United Nations investigation into possible war crimes. However, the international response remains insufficient. As of 2024, only 8 percent of the Sudan refugee response plan has been funded, and Chad has secured just 6 percent of the $630 million it requires.(Source: Al Jazeera, Edited version)
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.(Deuteronomy 32:11-12, NIV)
Lord, have mercy on the people of Sudan who have been forced to flee their devastated homeland after years of brutal civil war, and be their guide in foreign lands. Though they have escaped to refugee camps in Chad, they suffer from the trauma of war and have become victims of sexual violence even within the camps. By Your power, heal their wounded bodies and broken hearts. May the churches of Chad and the nations extend hands of prayer and love to the Sudanese refugees who cry out in pain. And may they come to know that they are Your children, protected under the wings of the Lord, and become citizens of heaven who praise God.
Prayer 24·365
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