LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The Sudanese army has launched a major offensive in Khartoum in a bid to retake the capital city from Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, the paramilitary group that has controlled it for more than a year.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Meanwhile, millions have been displaced since the war began, and it's the worst displacement and hunger crisis in the world.
FADEL: All this is happening as Sudan's military leader is attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York. NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu is there. Good morning, Emmanuel.
EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So this new fight for the capital, what more can you tell us?
AKINWOTU: Well, overnight yesterday, the army sprung a surprise attack from Omdurman, which is a twin city of the capital, and it advanced into northeast parts of Khartoum, which is overrun by the Rapid Support Forces. And we've not seen fighting like this in the capital region for many months. And like so much of this war, the fighting is just playing out street to street in hotels, hospitals, at the Arab market, at the University of Khartoum. And the army have essentially advanced a few miles into the capital. It's continued this morning into central parts of Khartoum. It's not clear how this will end or whether this advance will hold, but it's clearly a bold attempt to shift the balance of power in a war that's gone on for close to 18 months now without either side having a definitive advantage.
FADEL: You were just in Sudan. What are people living through?
AKINWOTU: It's catastrophic. The hospitals in Omdurman, where I went, were overwhelmed from victims of shelling, which was constant, from critically high levels of malnutrition, from patients with just common conditions like diabetes that have become so much more fatal because they lack basic medicine, basic equipment.
More than 10 million people are displaced. That's more than a fifth of the country - more than the population of New York. And there were so many schools that were turned into shelters. So many people fortunate enough to live in their own homes are hosting relatives, friends, neighbors. And Sudan is a breadbasket with huge agriculture, but now half of the country is acutely hungry, according to the U.N. And it's only going to get worse unless something significant changes, and it's clear both sides really only see a military solution as the way forward.
FADEL: Now, the push for the capital came at the same time Sudan's military leader was here for the U.N. General Assembly, and you saw him last night. What did he say?
AKINWOTU: Yes. While the attack was unfolding in Khartoum, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the military leader of Sudan, he was addressing the U.N. General Assembly. And then he held a press conference, where he mostly spoke in Arabic.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
ABDEL FATTAH AL-BURHAN: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: And the timing seemed deliberate, like he was sending a message, trying to show that the army is taking the fight to the RSF in the country and taking a more authoritative position internationally. He said the army was committed to peace but would never negotiate with the RSF. And then he mentioned the United Arab Emirates.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
AL-BURHAN: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: And he repeated evidence from the U.N. Security Council that was published earlier this year that the UAE are basically bankrolling the RSF. He said the UAE was smuggling weapons into Sudan via Chad and Uganda and that this was prolonging the war. The UAE have denied this, but the evidence continues to mount and is a huge focus point. He was asked about the attacks in Khartoum, and he acknowledged them, but he said very little about it, which made it clear that there is still so much at stake and so much in the balance.
FADEL: That's NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu. Thank you, Emmanuel.
AKINWOTU: Thanks, Leila.
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