sudan's warring factions have agreed to talks on allowing aid into the country — but a political solution seems a distant reality. plus, we'll hear from humanitarian workers, diplomats, and experts to help explain the conflict, and prospects for a resolution to the crisis. hello. i'm carl nasman. welcome to this bbc news special report on the war in sudan. the united nations recently urged the international community not to forget the civilians caught in the middle of sudan's civil war. millions of people in africa's third largest country are in desperate need of humantarian aid, after ten months of fighting. first, here's more on the roots of the conflict. sudan is engulfed in a vicious power struggle between the sudanese

army's de facto leader, abdel fattah al—burhan, and a paramilitary group called the rapid support forces, led by mohamed hamdan dagalo. it began on 15 april of last year, when fierce fighting erupted between the two warring factions — in the capital khartoum and the western region of darfur. a week later, foreign countries began evacuating their citizens — as thousands of sudanese citizens fled their homes, many remained trapped. on 25 april both sides agreed to a 72—hour truce negotiated by the us and saudi arabia, but the deal was quickly violated. six months into the war, sudan became the largest internal displacement crisis in the world and during that same month the world health organisation said 70% of sudan's medical facilities were no longer functioning. the humanitarian crisis on the ground continued to deepen.

the un's humanitarian coordinator martin griffiths says leaders from both sides have agreed to meet for talks on the delivery of aid — though it's unclear when that will happen. mr griffiths says at least 25 million people are in need of immediate help and the un has had limited access. the world food programme reports that 18 million people across the country face acute hunger. nearly 5 million people now face emergency levels of hunger. security threats and roadblocks have made the work of humanitarian agencies nearly impossible. the un is appealing for $4.1 billion to fund humanitarian operations in sudan, and help neighbouring countries hosting refugees. here's the high commissioner for refugees speaking from sudan this week. it is important to reiterate our call, especially to the military leaders here in sudan. they have to go back to peace talks. they have to go back to a meaningful piece track. at least with a ceasefire so that people can go back to their

homes, the millions of those that have been displaced. and then,in that have been displaced. and then, in the meantime, while this complex political exercise goes on, it is crucial to provide basic assistance to all those affected stop to refugees, too displaced, to those hosting them that often have very few resources, and to work with the local authorities, with the federal authorities, with the federal authorities, to support these people. well, there's been a mass exodus of refugees since the war broke out as people continue to flee the fighting. over 10.7 million people have been displaced from their homes in sudan, including 9 million who've been displaced internally. sudan has the highest rate of internal displacement in the globe, surpassing syria. more than 1.5 million people have fled across sudan's borders to the central african republic, chad, egypt, ethiopia and south sudan. the un refugee chief has also warned that europe may also see an influx of sudanese

migrants due to the war. plenty to talk about. we want to break this down further. with me is cindy courville. she is a former us ambassador to the african union and former white house adviser on african affairs, and quscondy abdulshafi, who's a sudanese activist and researcher at peace direct. thank you to you both for being here tonight to discuss what has been a 10—month conflict and one seemingly that isn't much closer to a resolution. ambassador, i would love to start with you. this has been called by many the forgotten war. does that level is a right you? do you think that was paying enough attention to what is going on in sudan? unfortunately i think it is the forgotten war. you have this situation, the war in ukraine. now we have with palestine and

israel and we also have a situation in sudan where we didn't have peace to begin with. this has been a military regime since basheer was president. so it has had unfortunately a long history of military rule and instability. —— bashir. democracy has not really existed. for about 2006 to 2008, when secretary rice went to b and met with president bashir at the time, she said it was cooperation or we will move forward on dealing with you. and not since then, i think the other presidents have attempted, but again, the competing interests in the world have taken away from them. �* , ., , ., them. and “ust turning to you, quscondy — them. and “ust turning to you, quscondy. — them. and just turning to you, quscondy. you _ them. and just turning to you, quscondy, you haven't- them. and just turning to you, quscondy, you haven't been i them. and just turning to you, i quscondy, you haven't been back to your home country since 2007, yourfamily and loved ones, some are still there. what do you know? what are they

telling you about the latest in terms of the situation on the ground in sudan?— ground in sudan? definitely, thank you — ground in sudan? definitely, thank you for _ ground in sudan? definitely, thank you for having - ground in sudan? definitely, thank you for having me - ground in sudan? definitely, l thank you for having me here. to put it in a nutshell, currently, in sudan and where i came from, it is the darkest part of hell on earth. the situation is very much terror and people are in dire straits, but only because of the lack of access to food, but also people who are living in a kind of state of absence, of all state institutions, and you have a situation where you have eight—year—old kids who have more advanced guns, hunting for anything that letters. that is anything that letters. that is a situation where people lived in, particularly in the region of darfour where the military controls, but it is the same

situation that leaves people currently under the conflict area, which is khartoum, greater court event, and more recently in the central of sudan. people there are surviving each day is the last day, if we take the next day. looking at the statistics earlier, millions displaced, millions facing hunger — it is hard to put those numbers in perspective, but what does that mean for a country like sudan? how does that reflect for the people still living there? the different scenario _ people still living there? tue: different scenario of people still living there? tte: different scenario of the sudan war in this time is completely opposite of any other examples of the civil wars in africa. the difference is that most of the civil wars, particularly start and displease rural areas, and you have civilians in the urban centres still say.

the new wave of april 15 war started in the centre of khartoum, the central system, in a centralised state, and dispersed across the region. in 2003, people who had been targeted from the village, they run to the cities, and they made idp accounts and got access to schools and medicines. now the war actually targets people in the city and they have to run to go to the empty idp camps. the displacement numbers are even higher. it is difficult to imagine all the people in the regions. khartoum is never been displaced for now, meaning that the whole population in this vast area of sudan are directly impacted. t vast area of sudan are directly impacted-— impacted. i want to bring up darfour now. _ impacted. i want to bring up darfour now. the _

impacted. i want to bring up darfour now. the uk - impacted. i want to bring up darfour now. the uk has - impacted. i want to bring up| darfour now. the uk has said that it has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing. the un referred to the genocide 20 years ago. referred to the genocide 20 years age-— referred to the genocide 20 earsauo. ., . ., years ago. how concerned are ou? i years ago. how concerned are you? i was _ years ago. how concerned are you? i was in _ years ago. how concerned are you? i was in darfour- years ago. how concerned are you? i was in darfour in - years ago. how concerned are you? i was in darfour in 2006| you? i was in darfour in 2006 in the refugee camps. situations were dire then. but as you talk about, we have not only the rural but the urban areas and people are being displaced. we don't have a government by mentioning to even deliver services, making it possible for the un to really deliver services. so evenif really deliver services. so even if the us wanted to go in, who are we negotiating with? because these two generals, who work together — they... previously they did. work together - they... previously they did. and were both at the — previously they did. and were both at the forefront - previously they did. and were both at the forefront of - both at the forefront of overthrowing bashir. we see a pattern of regime change. people are suffering so much, even those who are going as

refugees into ethiopia, a situation that isn't stable as well, or into chad or central african republic. sojulia forgotten people. african republic. so julia forgotten people.- african republic. so julia forgotten people. would you like to see — forgotten people. would you like to see the _ forgotten people. would you like to see the biden - like to see the biden administration doing more? you mentioned it is difficult because there is no—one person to speak about what more could they be doing? for to speak about what more could they be doing?— they be doing? for the biden administration, _ they be doing? for the biden administration, the - they be doing? for the biden| administration, the secretary of state made the attempt. you have to have parties who are willing to sit down at the table. it was difficult. the secretary of state is doing sheu secretary of state is doing shell diplomacy and a couple of areas. this is difficult. not to lessen the situation in sudan. perhaps if there were a presidential special on boy — and note i said presidential, not a special on both from the department of state — someone with the director of the president. i know there is so much going on for this administration and resource

sources, which are the challenges to get to other countries as it is. but for secretary blinken, so his eyes delighted, you can still come to the table. but i think we need partners of the uk, perhaps those in the middle east would also be important to bring to the table and work closely with the african union. ambassador, we will contact you in a moment, but quscondy, the un special agency as condemned the violence against women and girls there, particularly those committed by the rsf, but it has been perpetrated on both sides of the conflict. the un says it's being used to "subjugate, terrorise, break and punish women and girls "as a means of punishing specific communities." more than 20 women and girls have been

abducted and "chained and held in inhumane, "degrading slave—like conditions", according to the un. it says sexual violence linked to the hostilities has impacted more than 100 people, though the real number is likely to be far higher. now gender—based violence as a war tactic is a violation of international law. for more, i wasjoined earlier by eujin byun, global spokesperson for the un refugee agency. thank you so much for being here to speak with us. i want to ask you about the situation facing women fleeing sudan, especially those leaving the region of darfur. what can you tell us about what is going on on the ground? what we're hearing from women and girls, women and children, in general, who arriving from the darfur region to chad is continuous and horrendous stories that they are experiencing in the country, backin experiencing in the country, back in sudan, talking about physical violence, back in sudan, talking about physicalviolence, of back in sudan, talking about

physical violence, of course, then the traumatic experiences that they had, witnessing family members die in front of them, and most importantly the violence that they are experiencing, including rape and sexual assault and sexual exportation. and on the way to chad. . , , ., exportation. and on the way to chad. . y,., . exportation. and on the way to chad. . , ., ., chad. recently you are on the round chad. recently you are on the ground in _ chad. recently you are on the ground in chad _ chad. recently you are on the ground in chad yourself. - chad. recently you are on the ground in chad yourself. help| ground in chad yourself. help us understand. people are fleeing sudan essentially looking for safety in chad, and they are finding it there either? ~ ., , they are finding it there either? ~ . , ., either? what is important, the situation in _ either? what is important, the situation in chad, _ either? what is important, the situation in chad, there - either? what is important, the situation in chad, there is - situation in chad, there is almost a 90% arriving in chad which are women and children, a striking and shocking number for us. they're seeking safety and security because they are experiencing violence and also they want to prevent those upcoming violence for them as well as children. the mother is bringing two or three children,

walking days and nights to arrive in chad, and then we have to remember that chad already is hosting over half a million people, half a million refugees, in the country. and now, since the conflict in the last year, april, that another half million people are seeking asylum in chad, where you have asylum in chad, where you have a lack of food, lack of basic services. to the situation, you can imagine, the crowded trenches and crowded refugee camp that they are barely having basic services. given the conditions _ having basic services. given the conditions you - having basic services. given| the conditions you described and given the risks of gender—based violence, how concerned are you and the united nations about what is taking place there?— taking place there? what is happening _ taking place there? what is happening in _ taking place there? what is happening in sudan - taking place there? what is happening in sudan is - taking place there? what is - happening in sudan is worrisome for us. the stories we're hearing from women and girls, notjust women and girls go but

also men and boys experiencing traumatic experiences, including sexual violence. some of these boys, i personally expressed one woman telling me how they were raped, have experienced that violence inside sedan and then on the move at the checkpoint and then a lot of the people are actually not allowed to cross the border, as well, for a long time. and then when they arrived in chad, they are also facing the difficulties of lack of services, lack of food. because of funding of international communities, not beating the people in need. and those are still facing the challenges and difficulties on top of the displacement, then away from theirfamily top of the displacement, then away from their family members, separating from their family members, then away from their home country. members, then away from their home country-— members, then away from their home country. when it comes to the incidence _ home country. when it comes to the incidence of _ home country. when it comes to the incidence of rape _ home country. when it comes to the incidence of rape and - the incidence of rape and sexual violence, do we know who is behind these incidents? badminton reports that the rapid support forces was involved. is that the case in

terms of what you're hearing? —— there have been reported. wearing from women that women that sexual violence authorities perpetrating the fighting of course, but the criminals and smugglers that existed before, and now they are abusing and exploiting women seeking safety and security. so all those perpetrators are actually on the scene, and then those un agencies really appeal that those perpetrators should be held to account. in those perpetrators should be held to account.— held to account. in terms of accountability, _ held to account. in terms of accountability, what - held to account. in terms of| accountability, what chances are there that these people could find any forms of justice?— could find any forms of 'ustice? ~ . , ., , , justice? what is happening in sudan against _ justice? what is happening in sudan against women - justice? what is happening in sudan against women and . sudan against women and children is a human rights violation and a grave breach of humanitarian law. it is happening notjust in sudan but in many conflicts across the world. the unhcr and other un

agencies and humanitarian agencies and humanitarian agencies are continuously talking about this issue during the conflict. and also we are witnessing the happening and increasingly risk of security and safety of women and children and of course those have to be held accountable, and the war must —— the world must not turn up blind eye to the atrocities and the human rights violation.— rights violation. eu'in byun, representative _ rights violation. eu'in byun, representative for h rights violation. eujin byun, representative for the - rights violation. eujin byun, i representative for the unhcr, thank you forjoining us. so what could possible resolutions, or at least political stability look like for sudan? for now, the focus appears to be on ending the battle between the army and the rsf paramilitary group before it spreads into a more complex and lengthy war. the bbc spoke to the former civilian prime minister of sudan, abdalla hamdok. he's leading a civilian

coalition aimed at bringing peace to the country. hamdok believes military influence in sudan's government is the lasting lesson from this conflict, and that that needs to change. we thought with such a great revolution in sudan we would be rewarded with lifting of the sanctions straightaway. it took us more than a year for the sanctions to be lifted which was a game changer. had it been lifted earlier we would be able to be integrated into the international community and address the issues of death, issues of opening up the country and things like that. so i think it is indeed the story of our neglect. for more on the situation, i spoke to sudan's ambassador to the us, mohammad idris. ambassador, we appreciate you taking the time, it has been about ten months now since violence broke out in sudan. where does this conflict stand now and is there any end in

sight in your opinion? that is what we hope, _ sight in your opinion? that is what we hope, that - sight in your opinion? that is what we hope, that any - sight in your opinion? that is i what we hope, that any conflict has an end, and that we feel the amount of the suffering of sudanese people, the amount of the agony the sudanese people are enduring, it at least adds to the practical and logical and, —— and which stood at least stop this war and the conflict and restore peace and stability in sudan. t conflict and restore peace and stability in sudan.— stability in sudan. i want to 'um in stability in sudan. i want to jump in and _ stability in sudan. i want to jump in and ask _ stability in sudan. i want to jump in and ask you, - stability in sudan. i want to i jump in and ask you, because sudan really has been ruled by some military or another for most of its history. what are the chances then that we could see a return to civilian rule like we had seen a few years ago? tt like we had seen a few years auo? , ., ago? it is the will of the sudanese _ ago? it is the will of the sudanese people - ago? it is the will of the sudanese people and i ago? it is the will of the l sudanese people and the ago? it is the will of the - sudanese people and the will of

the sudanese government. as you know, this current conflict is because of the insurgency which took place on 15 april 2023. otherwise we would have found a solution and we would have had a civilian led government. but the rsf militia tried to seize power by force on that day, and when the attempt was foiled, thenit when the attempt was foiled, then it has been transformed to violence, to atrocities, to instability inside khartoum and outside khartoum, from khartoum also to darfur. and as we usually say that numbers do not like, the recent united nations

estimates and records are talking about 9 million displaced persons in sudan. imagine, 3.5 out of the 9 million are displaced from khartoum. million are displaced from khartoum-— million are displaced from khartoum. ~ ., ., ., ., khartoum. we also heard from a to- un khartoum. we also heard from a top un official _ khartoum. we also heard from a top un official this _ khartoum. we also heard from a top un official this week - khartoum. we also heard from a top un official this week that - top un official this week that the two warring generals have agreed to meet in switzerland to discuss humanitarian issues. if that meeting does indeed happen, what are your expectations for any diplomatic work on that front? tote expectations for any diplomatic work on that front?— expectations for any diplomatic work on that front? we see that this is a mischaracterisation - this is a mischaracterisation of what is happening in sudan. what is happening in sudan is not a war between two generals on power, it is an insurgency ijy on power, it is an insurgency by eight paramilitary forces... do you see any way of bringing those two to the table and

bringing an end to this war? we are prepared to have a forum at any time the other party is ready, we will sit down and negotiate, the forum is there, and the sponsors are there, the kingdom of saudi arabia, the united states of america, these are two sponsors of the forum. and in the forum we have reached agreement on a number of important issues, a number of important issues, a number of elements, namely to... to exit from the civil objects unhindered humanitarian delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy, restoring of public service and institutions and the burial of the dead and other important

elements. the dead and other important elements-— the dead and other important elements. ., , ., ~ elements. mohamed idris, thank ou for elements. mohamed idris, thank you forjoining — elements. mohamed idris, thank you forjoining us. _ elements. mohamed idris, thank you forjoining us. i— elements. mohamed idris, thank you forjoining us. i think - elements. mohamed idris, thank you forjoining us. i think you - you for 'oining us. i think you so you forjoining us. i think you so much _ you forjoining us. i think you so much for— you forjoining us. i think you so much for caring. -- - you forjoining us. i think you so much for caring. -- thank| so much for caring. —— thank you. let's bring our panel back in — cindy courville, former us ambassador to the african union and former white house adviser on african affairs. and quscondy abdulshafi, who's a sudanese activists and researcher at peace direct. we have a couple of minutes left. i want to look into the future, and with your experience as ambassador to the african union, what role do you think regional partners in countries there can play in pushing both sides at least towards a temporary ceasefire? first of all the african union is critical, it knows the players on the ground. it is important that they use the subregionals like the african community as well, it should be a major role in this, already the generals have visited president kigami and other individuals along the way. but the african union needs the

support of the united states, other major powers like china who are invested in the region, so it is going to take what we call a coalition of the willing. call a coalition of the willing-— call a coalition of the willina. ., ., call a coalition of the willina. ., . f willing. how willing are they? some may — willing. how willing are they? some may need _ willing. how willing are they? some may need to _ willing. how willing are they? some may need to be - willing. how willing are they? | some may need to be brought willing. how willing are they? i some may need to be brought to the table, some may need to have their backs held to the table. so i think the united states, with everything else on its plate, it is too important to neglect sudan. and quscondy, just briefly, in terms of the people of sudan, what will it take and what other chances this country could get back to civilian rule and distort —— restored democracy after so many years of military rule? tt many years of military rule? it is the people 's right to be alive — is the people 's right to be alive and _ is the people 's right to be alive and have access to aid. and — alive and have access to aid. and the _ alive and have access to aid. and the world has to put itself togather— and the world has to put itself together to end this collective punishment, and not to wait until— punishment, and not to wait until we _ punishment, and not to wait until we see another mass killing _ until we see another mass killing and genocide through

hunger, _ killing and genocide through hunger, particularly in darfur. and _ hunger, particularly in darfur. and i— hunger, particularly in darfur. and i see _ hunger, particularly in darfur. and i see there is new mechanism that the government has to— mechanism that the government has to have somebody who really hacks _ has to have somebody who really backs inside defence, and the us needs _ backs inside defence, and the us needs to move the needle in terms _ us needs to move the needle in terms of— us needs to move the needle in terms of the bigger diplomatic effort — terms of the bigger diplomatic effort in — terms of the bigger diplomatic effort. in regard to the return to civilian _ effort. in regard to the return to civilian government, this war— to civilian government, this war did _ to civilian government, this war did not start as a conflict between _ war did not start as a conflict between the civilian government, it was a war within the security sector and it has to he — the security sector and it has to be seen in that light. any particular— to be seen in that light. any particular —— political process that— particular —— political process that intensifies the warring actors _ that intensifies the warring actors cannot lead to a solution, it has to happen in a different— solution, it has to happen in a different way.— different way. thank you so much to — different way. thank you so much to you _ different way. thank you so much to you both _ different way. thank you so much to you both and - different way. thank you so | much to you both and thank different way. thank you so - much to you both and thank you forjoining us at the war in sudan, we will have more coming up. hello there. there's still plenty of standing water from the heavy rain on thursday coupled with a snow melt, of course, here's a flooded park in warwickshire as captured

by one of our weather watchers. bright skies, but lots of water on the ground, and there are still a number of flood warnings in place across england and wales. the good news is it should be a much drier weekend of weather, but with low pressure still close by, we're still likely to see some showers and indeed some longer spells of rain here and there at times. now, you can see on the pressure chart here that warm frontjust pushing northwards across the north of scotland. this is where the colder air is being displaced to, but still some snow falling on the tops of the hills towards the far north of scotland as we head through the rest of the night. we'll still see temperatures here dip below freezing. but this is generally how we're starting off a saturday morning. it's a colder, drier start to the day across the south of england and wales. some patches of mist and fog here, some hill fog further north where we'll keep all of that low cloud in that now milderfeeling air. so still some strong, gusty winds across the far north of scotland. elsewhere, the winds are lighter, still some wintriness for caithness and sutherland. but further south, there'll be lots of cloud

for northern ireland, though, northern england, much of england and wales. in fact, there will be some sunshine developing — watch out for some showers towards the west, maybe. and these will be the temperatures to end the afternoon. it's turned a lot milder now across scotland, 12 celsius in the south of england. low pressure approaches the far southwest, the winds will pick up here, some showers and some longer spells of rain just creeping into the south—east of england and east anglia as we head towards the end of the day on saturday. that area of low pressure is set to spin its way further northwards towards parts of eastern scotland as we head through the day on sunday. so it's always going to be cloudier towards eastern coastal areas with, again, some outbreaks of rain at times, a good scattering of showers further west, but also some brighter skies. the winds picking up and temperatures a little lower for many towards the south, but, of course, higherfurther north. now, as we head into monday, we're back to more northwesterly winds. the air is going to feel colder, and some of these showers could turn out to be a little wintry, particularly over the higher ground towards the north and the west, feeling a little chillier for most with a bit of added wind chill

to factor in as well. but by the time we get to tuesday and wednesday, those temperatures will be picking up again with some milder air, an atlantic influence, and there will be some more showers in the forecast at times.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour,

straight after this programme. as an art critic and ajournalist, ifeel like a very lucky man indeed, because i get to spend tons of time inside museums — places i've loved ever since i was a boy. and during my working life, i've witnessed something astonishing — how radically they've changed. the days of museums as grand, intimidating treasuries for dusty objects. they're long gone. they're becoming much more dynamic and inclusive places, less solemn, less elitist, less west—centric, too. museums, i believe, are really having a moment, and that's what i want to explore. that's part of the story here — what's the museum about? which history do you want to tell? i really feel proud to be standing here and looking at these beautiful pieces from my country. good experiencei for my kids also. they laugh if you were bobbing

about in a boat on this exact spot in the arabian gulf half a century ago,