In a new report, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has detailed the catastrophic humanitarian situation unfolding in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state.
Families arrive at a transit centre in Renk, South Sudan, after fleeing escalating violence in Sudan.
WFP workers killed
The World Food Programme (WFP) mourned the deaths of three staff members in the Blue Nile state, killed during an aerial bombardment on 19 December.
WFP Executive DirectorCindy McCain condemned the attack, calling for accountability.
“Any loss of life in humanitarian service is unconscionable. Humanitarians are not, and must never be, a target,” Ms. McCain gravely stated.
“2024 is the deadliest year on record for aid workers in Sudan. Yet despite significant threats to their personal safety, they continue to do all they can to provide vital support wherever it is needed,” underscored Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement released by his spokesperson.
Refugee crisis at the border
Meanwhile, the spillover from the war between rival militaries is overwhelming neighbouring South Sudan.
UNHCR warns that over 80,000 people have fled into South Sudan in just three weeks, joining the more than one million Sudanese refugees already there.
“The recent surge in arrivals in South Sudan is overwhelming services in border areas, and funding for the humanitarian response remains insufficient,” said Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR Representative in South Sudan.
Call for accountability
The UN is calling for a renewed push for mediation and increased international support to prevent further civilian suffering.
Ms. Fung expressed the need for accountability and compliance with international law particularly due to “the Jeddah Declaration of Commitments that was signed by both parties in May 2023.”
The OHCHR report also underscores the urgent need for a thorough investigation into potential war crimes and for those responsible to be held accountable.
Emergency funds for Egypt
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has allocated $6 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to address the humanitarian needs of refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan to Egypt, in support of the ongoing response there.
The conflict in Sudan has created the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis, the UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.
“Of the more than three million people who have sought protection across Sudan’s borders since April of last year, some 1.2 million are being hosted by Egypt – more than in any other country – according to recent data from the Egyptian Government,” he told reporters at the daily briefing in New York.