“Save Sudan”, a global campaign with famous players to stop war

The campaign resonated with international players, including Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who took part on his Facebook page and interacted with tens of thousands of people around the world.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola also wrote posts supporting the cause. Guardiola added an exclamation point to an image of the Sudanese flag as a gesture of surprise at the world’s silence over what is happening in Sudan.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé and Barcelona’s Marc Casado expressed their solidarity with the Sudanese people, saying, “We pray for peace and support Sudan.” Several Arab players did the same.

Sudanese activist Hisham Abbas wrote on Facebook that the “Save Sudan” campaign was a remarkable success as the world turned its attention to the war-ravaged African country. But for Sudan’s Islamist Movement, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement was surprising and troubling. The movement became a global demand for an end to the war, running counter to the interests of Islamists who advocated the continuation of the conflict.

Abbas said Islamists were furious because the hashtags #SaveSudan and #أنقذوا_السودان (Arabic and English) had become a global movement to stop the war, save Sudanese people and hold perpetrators accountable, something they don’t want.

Displaced people in crisis

The Quartet (the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) had weeks ago called for a three-month ceasefire across Sudan and a roadmap that includes excluding the Muslim Brotherhood from the country’s political future, but the military’s ally the Islamist movement flatly rejected it.

At the same time, the Emergency Response Room, a volunteer organization supporting Sudanese civilians, warned of the critical situation of displaced persons arriving in the town of Tawira and called for urgent assistance from national and international organizations.

Sudanese media and witnesses recorded video showing the Liberation Army (Tasis) forces allowing trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to enter the city of El Fasher. The Al-Rakoba newspaper confirmed that the first shipments of food and medicine have arrived after weeks of humanitarian crisis. It is hoped that the flow of aid will continue to alleviate human suffering.

The country is facing humanitarian famine, the United Nations has warned. However, the allied government of General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan has decided to oust the head of the World Food Program (WFP), ignoring the suffering of millions of civilians and displaced people. There is growing international concern that hunger for the Darfur and El Fasher peoples is being used as a weapon and punishment, as political activist Anwar al-Duma has accused.

International Committee of the Red Cross Director-General Pierre Kreenbühl condemned the increase in violence against humanitarian workers, particularly in Sudan, where several volunteers were killed this week.

severe food insecurity

Liberation Army (Tasis) forces continue to impose security, introduce humanitarian aid, and seek normalization in El Fasher. However, these measures clashed with a decision by the military-appointed Port Sudan government, which gave WFP Sudan director Laurent Boukela and the program’s operations manager Samantha Katrag 72 hours to leave the country without clear reasons.

In response, the World Food Program warned that the decision would have a serious impact on humanitarian operations where millions of Sudanese people depend on their survival.

The agency noted that the expulsions come at a critical time, with more than 24 million people experiencing severe food insecurity and communities already suffering from severe hunger due to war and supply chain disruptions.