In a dusty square at the centre of the small Chadian town of Tiné, four aid trucks are crammed with medicine and food.
Supplies sent to relieve civilians trapped in a besieged and famine-ridden area of North Darfur, Sudan – just across a narrow valley border – have been sitting in the sun for weeks.
“These trucks have been here for two months. They have humanitarian supplies – food and medicine – going to North Darfur. We can’t go in because of security risks on the road,” says truck driver Mohamed.
The national war that broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April last year moved to North Darfur’s capital Al Fashir in May.
Trucks crammed with humanitarian aid for people in desperate need in North Darfur are now stuck in Tiné, on the Chad/Sudan border. Pic: Sky News
After Darfur’s four other state capitals fell to the RSF, the paramilitary group (born from the Arab Janjaweed militias that ravaged the region in the early 2000s) is fighting for full territorial control.
But trapped in the crossfire of persistent RSF shelling and army airstrikes, the residents of Al Fashir are in dire need of the food and medicine stacked at the back of these static trucks.
Famine was declared in Zamzam camp just 12km south of the city where thousands have fled for their safety.
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“The Sudanese people are suffering so much – especially now in the rainy season on top of the conflict. People need this medicine and aid,” says Mohamed, sitting in the shadow of a truck carrying cooking oil, rice, and other food.
His wife and two children are among the besieged in Al Fashir. Despite the long wait and risk of attack, he is determined to get these supplies to his family and community.
His truck is emblazoned with US AID, Relief International and other aid agency stickers but recognisable humanitarian logos haven’t stopped other truck drivers from being attacked by militiamen on the road.
Since the start of the war, aid warehouses and convoys have been frequently ambushed and looted by the RSF.
The trucks are covered in stickers showing they are filled with aid. Pic: Sky News
“So many trucks of medicine and aid have crossed into Sudan when the valley was dry but have not been able to push in any further because drivers are being attacked and held by the RSF,” he says.
Around 110 miles south of Tiné, some UN trucks have finally made it through the Adre crossing bordering RSF-held West Darfur after a ban issued by the Sudanese government on aid entering enemy territory in February was lifted for three months.
But security stipulations on aid access issued by Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) – seen by Sky News – mean that a single looting incident by the RSF could mean the ban will be imposed again.
A young boy plays at the refugee transit camp in Tiné – Chad/Sudan border. Pic: Sky News
“The RSF only wants aid to go through the Adre border for reasons only they know – this is the straightest route to North Darfur. They don’t want anything to go into North Darfur and accuse truck drivers of transporting supplies to the army,” says Mohamed.
Recent US-led peace talks in Geneva failed to bring the two fighting factions to the mediation table. The conflict has now gone on for more than five hundred days – without a single ceasefire or consistent aid access – creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
Even after people flee the onslaught of armed violence and encroaching famine, they suffer in the scarce refugee camps of Chad.
A young girl drinks from a tap at the camp. Pic: Sky News
“We don’t have covers, mattresses, mats – none of the usual aid supplies – not even a lamp to light our tents,” says Firdous Suliman from Al Fashir. Her brothers are still trapped there.
“There is no food distribution. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) only started providing healthcare and clean water recently,” she adds.
Firdous is fuming as she rattles off a list of all the supplies they are yet to receive.
She is surrounded by other angry women in Toloum camp in Iriba, Chad, hours after protests demanding food and camp representation were met with a heavy-handed response by the Chadian authorities.
Firdous Suliman is angry at the harsh living conditions in the Touloum refugee camp in Chad. Pic: Sky News
“They beat us with rifles and tear-gassed us,” says Firdous, tears filling the corners of her eyes.
“We fled war to come to war.”