Sudan: Guterres sends UN ‘relief chief’ as humanitarian crisis nears ‘breaking point’
“The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are deeply concerned by the immediate and long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the wider region,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.
The UN also urged the armed forces to protect civilians and civilian infrastructureallow safe passage for civilians fleeing war, and respect humanitarian workers and assets.
Approaching the ‘breaking point’
The humanitarian situation in Sudan “It’s reaching a breaking point,” Mr Griffiths warned in a separate statement, stressing the need to stop the fighting.
Essential goods are becoming scarce, especially in the capital, Khartoum, and families are struggling to access water, food, fuel and other essential supplies.
Furthermore, vulnerable people are unable to leave the worst-hit areas as transportation costs have risen dramatically, while those injured in violence find it difficult to access health care in speed.
Aid stocks are dwindling
“The United Nations and our partners are doing our part to restart the humanitarian response in the country,” he said.
“It has a large number of offices and shops of humanitarian organizations depleted most of our supplies. We are exploring faster ways to import and distribute additional supplies. ”
The UN “relief chief” said the shipment with five containers of intravenous fluids and other emergency supplies is currently in port in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, awaiting release by the authorities.
On April 27, 2023, Al-Imam Al-Kadhim School in Al-Geneina City, West Darfur State, which has been operating as an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) shelter, burned to the ground amid the ongoing crisis in Sudan.
Plea for ceasefire renewal
The announcement of his deployment comes a few hours after the UN and international partners appealed to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as “Hemedti”, to agree to extend a 72-hour suspension for another three days, amid reports of ongoing airstrikes in Khartoum.
The Trilateral Process – which brings together the African Union, East Africa IGAD and the UN – also called on the rivals to ensure that their forces fully implement the agreement.
“As the Sudanese people urgently need humanitarian aid, the Mechanism urges parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefireto protect civilians and to prevent attacks on civilian areas, schools, and health facilities,” they said in a statement.
“The ceasefire will also pave the way for talks between the two parties towards the establishment of a permanent cessation of hostilities,” they added.
Death and passing
Sudan has been undergoing a turbulent transition to civilian rule since the April 2019 coup of President Omar al-Bashir. A power-sharing government combining military and civilian leaders was also overthrown in a coup in October 2021.
The Triple Framework facilitating talks from May 2022 that led to an agreement to restore civil law, signed that December.
However, hope was dashed two weeks ago when fighting broke out between the regular Sudanese army, led by General al-Burhan, and the paramilitary forces under General Dagalo, who known as RSF.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have fled, including to neighboring Chad, where some 20,000 Sudanese have sought refuge. Others are sheltering in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, often within already vulnerable areas.
The fighting has also forced the UN to halt all aid operations in a country where nearly 16 million people, roughly a third of the population, are already in need.
Commitment to stay
The UN also moved and transferred staff from Khartoum and other locations last week, who will continue to work remotely, either from inside Sudan or in other countries.
The UN and partners are establishing a special team in Port Sudan, which will be responsible for monitoring aid operations and negotiating humanitarian access with so true authority.
The people who are now based in the coastal city, the capital of the Red Sea state, are decided to hurry back to Khartoumas the UN continues to support its commitment to Sudan.
Early on Sunday, Volker Perthes, head of the UN Transition Support Mission, UNITAMS, was briefed by the Wali (Governor) and other officials in the Red Sea State on the humanitarian and security situation there.
“He convinced them that He did not leave Sudan and he will operate from Port Sudan until the security situation in Khartoum allows our return,” UNITAMS said a tweet.
