GEOFF BENNETT: This week is the one-year# anniversary of the war in Sudan.
What started## as an internal power struggle has now forced# more than eight million people to flee their## homes.
Sixteen million are facing hunger and even# famine, and tens of thousands have been killed.
Sudan shares borders with seven# countries and the Red Sea,## and the U.S. warns the conflict# could destabilize the entire region.
Nick Schifrin, in collaboration with# the North African media company Ayen,## starts our coverage as seen# from a refugee camp in Chad.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In the windblown# Sahara Desert, children of war## line up for a plate of food.
These families# are stalked by hunger and haunted by horror.
WOMAN (through translator): My family# is poor.
We are innocent.
And we don't## have anything.
They came to us with# weapons drawn.
We could not do anything.
NICK SCHIFRIN: She spoke to our# collaborator of media company## Ayen on condition of anonymity.# She escaped Sudan's West Darfur,## the scene of what the U.S. calls crimes against# humanity.
She has lived here for 11 months.
WOMAN (through translator): A dark-tinted car came# by and kidnapped my sister and I.
They beat us in## our stomachs.
I was in a lot of pain from the# beating, that I didn't even know where I was.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Hers is a story# all too common in this civil war## that turned residential blocks into battlegrounds.
It's a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed# Forces, or SAF, which the U.S. is accused of war## crimes, and, on the other side, the rebel# paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF,## accused by the U.S. of ethnic cleansing, accused# of killing her brothers and scarring her for life.
WOMAN (through translator): They took me to a# faraway place.
They raped me and then threw me## out naked.
My family thought I was dead,# but they found me naked and they took me## home.
My brothers were also killed.
There# was nothing else to do but come to Chad.
NICK SCHIFRIN: She's had two surgeries and# battles physical and mental trauma.
The U.N.## says rape has been used as a weapon of war.
And,# for far too many victims, there is little support.
WOMAN (through translator): I'm depressed# and completely shattered mentally.
I need## a psychologist, or at least to change my# environment to forget what happened to me,## because, every time I remember# what happened, I get panic attacks.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Inside Sudan, more than# six million have fled their homes,## including to this camp in the northeast.
For 10-year-old Manasa Sheikh Bashir,# there are moments of distraction and## even joy.
For her brothers, boys get to be# boys.
But the parents are not all right.
Maysaa and Bashir fear the future# and are scarred by the past.
BASHIR AL-SHEIKH, Displaced in Sudan# (through translator): The children were## frightened by any sound, and th.. and I would hug them at night to comfort them.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Maysaa fled# her home while pregnant.
MAYSAA ABDEL MONEIM, Displaced in Sudan (through# translator): There was no medical treatment.
I was## not able to test my blood for so many days.
I did# not know if the baby inside me was alive or dead.
NICK SCHIFRIN: They are twice displaced.
All## they can hope now is to protect their# children and provide as best they can.
The U.N. warns that, in Sudan,# water and food are so scarce,## hundreds of thousands of children could die# just in the next few months.
This weekend,## donor countries pledged $2.1 billion to help# Sudan, but that's half of what's needed.
The U.S. delegation was co-led by# U.S. Special Envoy Tom Perriello.
TOM PERRIELLO, U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan:# It is absolutely urgent for the international## community to increase its attention# on Sudan and its contributions on the## humanitarian side.
And we are seeing thousands# and thousands of women and children crossing## the border, saying that their primary# motivation right now is finding food.
We need this conference, but we also need it# to not just be one day on the anniversary.
We## need the world to continue paying attention# and pressuring the actors until we get a## peace deal and ensure that humanitarian# access can reach all Sudanese people.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Congressional officials who# were recently on a trip to the region tell me## that there's a shortage of food in the camps and# that it's so bad, if you don't get more funding,## the food will actually run out by the# end of the month.
Is that what you see?
TOM PERRIELLO: That's correct.
We have# seen inside the actors, including the RSF,## that has burned all the harvest and looted all# of the storage of food.
So there's no resiliency## inside, where people are at an incredible# level of fragility in what they face,## in addition to the violence and the horrors# particularly being conducted against women.
When they get out, we need them to at least have# the full set of psychosocial counseling, of at## least three meals a day.
And we're not meeting# that standard.
The United States will have given## over a billion dollars now since the war began.# And the rest of the world has just not stepped up.
NICK SCHIFRIN: You mentioned some of the actions## that the Rapid Support Forces have taken# inside Sudan.
The U.S. has s.. Sudanese Armed Forces have blocked# aid deliveries across the border.
Bottom line, are both sides right# now using food as a weapon of war?
TOM PERRIELLO: Absolutely.
Both sides are violating all of the basic norms# of international hum.. not attacking humanitarian workers and convoys or# politicizing aid delivery.
This is an absolutely## horrific treatment of civilians, and the most# fragile civilians, in a situation by both sides.
We do expect both sides to obey international# humanitarian law.
And these are their own people,## the Sudanese people, that they are# starving as a mechanism of war.
NICK SCHIFRIN: The U.S. ambassador# to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield,## has talked about the possibility of a# Security Council resolution that would## guarantee food deliveries into Sudan, much# like the Security Council created in Syria.
But do you also believe there should# be discussion about protecting food## convoys inside Sudan with some kind of# peacekeeping or even military force?
TOM PERRIELLO: At this point, we need# to be considering all options.
This is## a situation of life and death for# millions and millions of Sudanese.## It's the largest displacement crisis in the world.
The United Nations, along with# ourselves and our partners,## particularly our African partners# across the region and the African Union,## need to be thinking about all options that# will solve the humanitarian crisis.
And,## also, we need the war to end, which is the# biggest threat to the humanitarian situation.
There's a huge amount of consensus among the# Sudanese about the urgency of ending the war,## wanting a unified, integrated military that's# accountable to the people, a return to that## constitutional transition that began just five# years ago last week and really inspired the world.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Let's talk about the diplomacy,# and let me begin with a large overview question.
Do you fear that the leaders could decide it## is more profitable for them to# keep fighting than make peace?
TOM PERRIELLO: The one thing that everyone should## agree on is that this war right now is on# a trajectory that ensures..
This is a situation in which we are going# from a two-sided war to one that is actually## increasing in terms of kinetic activity.
We're# seeing more of the ethnic militias coming in,## some of which had stayed neutral.
Some of# those have dynamics with neighboring countries.
This is on a path right now, not just# to famine, but to a failed state,## to a regionalized and factionalized conflict.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Do you have the tools that you# would want going into this diplomacy?
I'm thinking## not only of what we talked about before about a# way to protect some of those convoys, but also a## way to perhaps even threaten leaders that they# will be held accountable for their war crimes.
TOM PERRIELLO: Well, as you know, the United# States has led on sanctioning bad actors on both## sides of this, not just individuals who've# committed atrocities and fueled the war,## but banks and other institutions# that have been part of that.
That's certainly an option.
We have to expand# those sanctions and also encouraging other## governments to join us in expanding those# sanctions.
But we are, again, needing to look## at all options on the table, including some of# those that you mentioned, for getting to a deal.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Peace talks are supposed# to resume imminently in Jeddah,## Saudi Arabia.
Have the Saudis agreed to a date?
TOM PERRIELLO: They have agreed to host the# talks and to having key partners there that## have not been part of the past.
They have not# yet set a date.
We're hoping that's coming soon.
And, right now, I do think we are seeing a# significant shift in the political will of## actors in the region, who may not have been# as motivated as we were by the atrocities,## by the horrible treatment of women and these# crises.
But for those who only care about## stability, this is now a time we're seeing# much greater engagement from key actors.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Have you sent a message to those# countries, including the UAE, that, if we approach## famine this summer, which is a real possibility,# that that will be their responsibility?
TOM PERRIELLO: We have repeatedly been in contact# with all the countries that are in the region.## And I think part of the message too is, this# is the trajectory we are on, is going from a## two-sided war inside Sudan to something that# could become a regional war in a failed state.
But this is also a strategic failure# being fueled by key actors, more and## more that are coming in, including foreign# fighters being counted on the RSF side.## This is not a good outcome for anyone# who cares about stability in the region.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And is that the# risk, a more factionalized conflict,## one that produces even more refugees and# threatens the stability of the region?
TOM PERRIELLO: It's not just a risk.
It's# a certainty if we don't change course.
We hope we're building some momentum with# Paris, with some of the initiatives of Egypt## and others.
We hope that will come together# with talks in Jeddah.
The Sudanese people## deserve their future back.
And we don't# have much time to get to that outcome.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Tom Perriello, special# envoy for Sudan, thank you very much.
TOM PERRIELLO: Thank you.
