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[Name]
[Date]
[Name of Publication or Newspaper]
[Address of Publication or Newspaper]
Dear Editor,
I am writing to you with an urgent plea for attention to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan. The crisis has escalated beyond comprehension, yet the world’s silence persists. The lack of media coverage is deeply concerning, and I urge you to bring attention to the devastating situation, particularly in Darfur, where atrocities more horrifying than those of the 2003 genocide in Sudan continue to unfold with each passing day.
Since April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have engaged in a senseless war, plunging the entire country into a catastrophic crisis in which heinous crimes are committed against the people of Sudan daily. The violence, which began in Khartoum, has rapidly escalated across the country, with Darfur experiencing the most devastating atrocities, including the ethnic slaughter of the Masalit people and other indigenous African communities in Darfur. While the RSF continues to occupy, indiscriminately shell, and loot civilians’ homes, using rape, sexual, and gender-based violence as tactics of war, the SAF are employing heavy artillery shelling, air strikes, and indiscriminate attacks; predominantly targeting civilians’ homes, markets, essential public services, and evacuation routes.
With Darfur experiencing the most horrific bloodshed, 15,000 people have been slaughtered in El Geneina, a city in West Darfur, alone. Women and girls as young as 10 years of age have been abducted and raped countless times by RSF forces on ethnic bases, sometimes, in front of their families in an attempt to break the families’ will and destroy their dignity. The U.N. fact-finding mission recently reported that serious international crimes have continued to be perpetrated by both the RSF and SAF, including mass rape, and sexual slavery; and that both factions are responsible for the destruction of essential public services- including electricity, water, and communications- in an attempt to isolate and silence the people of Sudan.
In the past weeks, there has not been a minute of silence with indiscriminate bombing and heavy artillery shelling resounding continuously across El Fasher, Khartoum, and towns in the Blue Nile region, leaving civilian homes, health facilities, and vital infrastructure in ruins. Over 75% of health facilities in the conflict-affected areas of Sudan are now non-functional, and diseases, likely linked to environmental damage from the ongoing conflict, are spreading rapidly, causing severe pain, blindness, and long-term disabilities for the already starved victims of war and genocide.
Today, over 26 million people in Sudan are facing acute hunger, with famine having been officially declared in Darfur. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported that a child dies every two hours in the Darfur displacement camps. Both the RSF and SAF have systematically used starvation as a weapon of war and death against civilian populations, leaving countless to die in silence. As a result of this devastating crisis, more than 2 million people, most of whom are women and children, have been forced to flee to neighboring countries and live in deplorable conditions. The atrocities are mounting and the Sudanese people continue to suffer while the world watches.
This genocide, unfolding in real-time, is a moral and ethical crisis that demands immediate attention. Media coverage is essential to draw the world’s focus to the plight of the Sudanese people and to spur the political action needed to save lives. Silence not only emboldens the perpetrators but also deepens the suffering of the victims. Therefore, I urge you to use your platform to expose the atrocities occurring in Sudan, where millions are struggling to survive against unimaginable odds.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
In partnership with Darfur Women Action Group
November 21 - 2023
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