While various conflicts around the world are causing unspeakable suffering, Pope Francis pointed out after Sunday's midday Angelus the one that is "most serious."
The Pope said:
The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023, is causing the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, with dramatic consequences in South Sudan too. I am close to the peoples of both countries and I invite them to fraternity, to solidarity, to avoid any kind of violence and not to allow themselves to be exploited. I renew my appeal to those who are at war in Sudan for them to put an end to hostilities and to agree to sit at the negotiating table. I urge the international community to do all it can to get the necessary humanitarian aid to the displaced people and to help the belligerents find paths to peace soon.
By various lists, Sudan ranks at the top of the list of most serious crises simply because of the sheer number of people involved.
According to Ireland-based charity Concern Worldwide, there are 30.4 million Sudanese who need aid, and a response is estimated to require some 10.3 billion dollars. Another close to 10 million people in South Sudan need help.
Famine was already declared in Sudan last August, and is expected to spread in 2025.
As The Economist reported last summer,
Sudan’s size and location [Africa's 3rd largest country] make it an engine of chaos beyond its borders. Middle Eastern states and Russia are sponsoring the belligerents with impunity. The West is disengaged; the UN is paralyzed.
