Relentless violence has devastated Sudan, and large-scale fighting has escalated in and around the only capital in Sudan’s western Darfur region not held by paramilitary forces, the UN’s top humanitarian official said on Wednesday.
UN Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya told the UN Security Council that famine has already struck Zamzam camp, about 15km from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State.
A large-scale humanitarian operation is “a matter of life and death,” Msuya said.
Photo: AP
Sudan plunged into conflict in the middle of April last year, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including Darfur.
The UN says that more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured.
Msuya urged the council to demand that the warring government and paramilitary Rapid Support Force refrain from targeting civilians, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, and allow unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid through all border crossings and across conflict lines.
She also called on the UN’s 193 member nations to pressure the parties “to agree to a humanitarian pause to save lives, give civilians respite and allow us to deliver assistance.”
Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the Janjaweed Arab militias, against populations that identify as central or east African. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.
That legacy appears to have returned, with International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan in January saying that there are grounds to believe both sides might be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.
Msuya said “the world should not abide in El Fasher the atrocities we witnessed in West Darfur” State.
In June, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “an immediate halt to the fighting and for de-escalation in and around El Fasher.”
Regrettably, both sides ignored the call, and fighting escalated in the past week with “constant and heavy” shelling and bombing, Msuya said.
“Civilians, especially women and children, have been hit [and] civilian sites and infrastructure — including hospitals and internally displaced persons’ camps — have been hit,” she said. “Of the three main hospitals in El Fasher, only one is functioning, although only partially following an attack that caused extensive damage in August.”
International experts last month confirmed that there is famine in Zamzam camp, which houses about 500,000 displaced people.
Msuya said close to 1.7 million people in North Darfur face “acute food insecurity,” adding that 13 other localities in Sudan have been identified as at risk of famine.
In February, Doctors Without Borders reported that a child was dying every two hours in Zamzam camp, she said.
The latest screening by the medical aid organization and the Sudanese Ministry of Health from Sept. 1 to 5 indicated that the situation was getting worse.
“About 34 percent of the children are malnourished, including 10 percent who are severely malnourished,” Msuya said.
Aid deliveries have been impeded by fighting and flooding, but Msuya said that as floodwaters subside, the UN will be able to start moving food and other assistance to El Fasher and other areas at risk of famine.
To address “the atrocious humanitarian situation,” there are two keys: A de-escalation in fighting and a willingness by both sides to facilitate access to those in need, she said.
“Be in no doubt: Without safe and predictable access and a steady supply of food and humanitarian supplies, we will see a dramatic spike in mortality — including children — in Zamzam and in other areas around El Fasher,” she said.
“The same goes for the situation across Sudan, especially in Khartoum, as well as Sennar and Jazeera states, which continue to be devastated “by relentless violence,” she added.
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