“Hunger forced us to leave.” With these words, eight-year-old Sundus explained to the United Nations why she fled her home in North Darfur, Sudan. Now living in the Tawila displacement camp some 75 kilometers away, Sundus recalled the shells raining down on the capital of North Darfur, where nothing remains “but hunger and bombs,” according to a UN report published on 16 August. Her story reflects the grim reality across Darfur and Sudan at large, ravaged by civil war since mid-April 2023. The crisis in Darfur is not confined to hunger and killings. Cholera has spread across the population, compounding other afflictions such as malnutrition and measles. In the latest development, the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur announced a worrying surge in cholera cases. As of Thursday, 21 August 2025, cumulative infections had exceeded 7,437, with 315 deaths, amid a dire humanitarian and health situation. Spokesman Adam Regal stated that most cases were concentrated in displacement camps in Tawila, Jebel Marra, Nyala, Zalingei, and Sharia in Khazan Jadid. Infection rates were described as “unprecedented.” “Tawila alone recorded 4,537 cases, including 75 deaths, with 81 patients in isolation centers. Jebel Marra has seen extensive spread, particularly in Golo (1,172 cases, 51 deaths), Gildo (80 cases, 9 deaths), and Nertiti (37 cases, 4 deaths),” he explained. He stressed that humanitarian organizations and local volunteers were making “tremendous efforts to fight the epidemic despite severe shortages of medical supplies and isolation centers,” warning that continued escalation would constitute “a forgotten humanitarian catastrophe” in a country already gripped by war, famine, and disease. He urged the World Health Organization and other international bodies to intervene urgently to curb the outbreak and save displaced lives in Darfur, where people endure harsh health and environmental conditions in the camps. In Darfur, suffering deepens daily. Alongside epidemics and famine, civilians are being decimated by indiscriminate airstrikes, according to a June report by Human Rights Watch. The organization stated that Sudanese government forces used unguided aerial bombs to attack residential and commercial neighborhoods in Nyala, South Darfur, in early February. These indiscriminate assaults, potentially constituting war crimes, killed and wounded large numbers of civilians. Jean-Baptiste Gallopin, senior researcher in the Crisis, Conflict, and Weapons division at Human Rights Watch, said: “The Sudanese army bombed densely populated residential and commercial areas in Nyala using inaccurate bombs. These attacks killed dozens of men, women, and children, destroyed families, and sowed fear and displacement.” A day laborer from Nyala testified: “I was only ten meters from my home when I saw the plane. People began running in panic, shouting, ‘There’s a plane coming!’ It was a white aircraft flying at a very high altitude, with a deafening roar. “The street was full of people, some heading to work, some crossing, others just moving about. Panic broke out; no one knew whether to stay outside or hide. Everyone started running. I told my sister we needed to hide. I was a little ahead of her and my nephew when the strike hit, it killed them both.” The first bomb fell on Congo Street near Al-Noor Eye Hospital and the Zain mobile company office on 3 February. The witness confirmed there was no RSF presence in the area at the time. Human Rights Watch said the attacks were “indiscriminate, as the bombs used have wide-area effects and limited accuracy, making it nearly impossible to target specific military objectives in populated areas. Deliberately or recklessly conducting indiscriminate attacks is a war crime.” Several other rights groups documented similar crimes perpetrated by the army in coordination with extremist militias such as the Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Brigades and Sudan Shield Forces. Militias and the Army Under One Law Meanwhile, Sudanese Sovereign Council chief and army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan recently issued a decree placing allied militias under the Armed Forces Act. According to the army statement, the decision aimed to “affirm the rule of law and tighten command and control,” placing all such forces under the authority of regional army commanders. Reacting to the move, retired Major General Kamal Ismail, head of the executive office of the Sudanese National Alliance, warned that subsuming militias under the law could trigger internal clashes. “These groups do not share a common goal. Some fight for political or economic power, such as the Islamist Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Brigades and other armed movements. They will not accept subordination to the army,” he said, cautioning that “the absence of unified command may open the door to conflict among these groups.” Analysts argue the changes cannot be separated from broader internal struggles within the army itself, including factions linked to Islamist officers who have maintained influence since Al-Bashir era. Some armed movements within the so-called “Joint Forces,” including the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Darfur governor Minni Arko Minnawi, objected to Al-Burhan’s decree to place all allied formations under the 2007 Armed Forces Act. Focus on War Observers note that the Sudanese army is doubling down on its military campaign, particularly after sustaining losses in Kordofan, determined to pursue a battlefield solution. In this context, the army recently signed a massive $1.5 billion defense deal with Pakistan for air defense systems, combat drones, and other military equipment. Under the agreement, the army will receive: 10 K-8 Karakorum light attack/trainer aircraft 20 Shahpar-2 drones 50 MR-10K drones 50 Ababeel-5 drones MiG-21 fighter jet engines 150 ASV Mohafiz armored vehicles HQ-9 and HQ-6 air defense systems Media reports suggest the deal is likely financed by a third country, given its size. The contract further underscores the army’s commitment to a military solution to the conflict, with no intention of entering negotiations. The growing defense cooperation between Sudan and Pakistan coincides with deepening military-industrial ties between Pakistan and Turkey, an important backdrop, analysts note, given Turkey’s known support for the Muslim Brotherhood and for Sudan’s army.