Answers to your questions about the war in Sudan, “forgotten conflict”

Several women committed suicide in Al-Jazeera, central Sudan, after being raped by paramilitaries, in the war between two generals, once allies and now enemies. At least 37 cases reported in a week in and around the town of Rufaa, in Al Jazirah state, south of Khartoum, reports Sudan Tribune. Paramilitaries reportedly killed at least 124 people, including a baby, in Al-Jazeera state, south of Khartoum, reports l’agence Reuters et the Saudi newspaper Arab News. 200 people were also injured, according to a pro-democracy group, but it is impossible to verify this toll, specifies the BBC due to the lack of communication in a Sudan at war. Why is this conflict so little publicized, when it is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world according to the UN, with the risk of famine and the trauma experienced in particular by the 11 million internally displaced people and refugees? ? Cyril Sauvageot, editor-in-chief of the international editorial staff of Radio France, answers your questions.

Security problem for sending journalists, but possibility of sometimes following the conflict remotely: “Yes, clearly, the war in Sudan is today under the radar”recognizes Cyril Sauvageot, editor-in-chief of the international editorial staff of Radio France. “First of all, it's regrettable. And we, in the international editorial team, are trying to follow up on this conflict, but we see that it is difficult to make it exist in the media for several reasons. First, that is due to the fact that Sudan today is a sort of media no-man's land. There are very few, if not absolutely no, foreign journalists. We, at least, at Radio France, have not had one for some time. freelance journalists who would be based in the field, who could make us experience this conflict, for security reasons And even to send reporters from Paris, to go and cover Sudan at the moment is complicated. So, this country. has become a media no-man's land. There is no or very little information coming back from the field and this is our great difficulty. We try, even occasionally, to work remotely to keep this conflict alive. By what means? Through reports from NGOs and United Nations agencies which nevertheless provide information and themes on which we can rely, such as sexual violence or famine. We can contact representatives of NGOs who continue to work in the field, contact researchers as well. And that also gives a form of media appetite, even very occasional ones, for the channels on our antennas.” explains the editor-in-chief of the International Editorial Team of Radio France.

“The news hook” and the emotional dimension in question in editorial choices: “Even if we have specialists who want to make the war in Sudan exist in the newspapers, there are also editors-in-chief, newspaper presenters who must be convinced of the relevance and the right time to find the place for this subject”, continues Cyril Sauvageot. This is what we call, in journalistic jargon, “the news hook”. “And that brings me to another very important aspect: today we have two major international conflicts with implications across the entire planet, namely the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. These two conflicts occupy a lot of space in the media, with a very strong emotional dimension The war in Ukraine, because there was a sort of identification with the Ukrainian people, with the Ukrainian refugees, with a European theme. The subject is explosive and raw even in French society. But there can be a form of identification and emotional support, for example with regard to Palestinian society, the Gazans but also what the people have experienced. Israelis at the time of October 7, sometimes there can be something much more distant while the Sudanese have been living through a terrible war for almost two years. This emotional aspect, we can regret it, but it is enormous in the way it is. we approach things in the media”analyzes Cyril Sauvageot, editor-in-chief of the international editorial staff of Radio France.