‘Unimaginable trauma’ haunts displaced people in Sudan as violence, famine threaten millions
His spokesman said: “The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack allegedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 5 June in the village of Wad Al-Noura, Jazira state, allegedly has killed more than 100 people.” declared overnight, which also emphasized “the enormous suffering of the Sudanese people due to continued hostilities”.
“It is time for all parties to quiet down across Sudan and commit to the path forward sustainable peace for the people of Sudan.”
Briefing journalists in Geneva from Port Sudan, Mohamed Refaat, the United Nations migration agency (IOM) head of delegation in the country, highlighted “truly horrifying reports of violent attacks and casualties” in Wad Al-Noura village in Aj Jazirah state on Wednesday.
His comments came as unconfirmed video images showed dozens of bodies buried in the village after an attack believed to have been by heavily armed, defensive RSF fighters. capital about 112 km (70 miles).
At least 35 children are believed to be among the deaddraw strongly condemn from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) CEO Catherine Russell.
“This is another grim reminder of how Sudanese children are paying the price of brutal violence,” she said in a statement late Thursday. “Over the past year, thousands of children were killed and injured. Children are recruited, kidnapped, subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence. More than five million children have been forced to leave their homes.
Rising concerns: Rights heads
The UN’s top human rights official also expressed shock upon learning of the killings in Wad Al-Noura, asserting that the RSF had “used weapons with wide-ranging effects, including artillery shells , during the attack”.
“These murders add to my existing serious concerns on compliance with the principles of distinction, proportionality and prevention under international humanitarian law by those participating in the war,” said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
“Those responsible for the unlawful killings must be responsible. How many more Sudanese civilians must die before the conflicting parties stop fighting?”
hotspot Darfurs
At another flashpoint in the conflict, in North Darfur’s capital El Fasher in western Sudan, some 800,000 civilians remain in danger, amid growing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces ( SAF) and rival RSF.
This location remains “inaccessible” to the United Nations whether across or across bordersMr. Refaat said.
He called on all parties to facilitate unhindered aid access to the region “through all available routes” and emphasized that water and fuel prices there have “increased.” skyrocketing”, making essential goods impossible to buy.
IOM’s Mr. Refaat noted that internally displaced people in Sudan since the start of the conflict on April 15 last year were nearing the 10 million mark, with food insecurity being a factor. is increasing, causing people to decide to flee. About 18 million people in the country are seriously hungry while 3.6 million children are severely malnourished.
Refugees are stranded
In addition to internally displaced persons, more than two million people have fled across the Sudanese border Going to neighboring countries, mainly Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, “often comes in extremely vulnerable and severely damaged conditions,” Mr. Refaat emphasized.
The IOM spokesperson also warned of a three-fold increase recorded by IOM last year in Sudan “taking dangerous, irregular migration corridors into Libya, Tunisia, and then on to Europe.” He cited “unconfirmed reports” of about 2,000 families today “trapped in difficult conditions, including migrants between the borders between Egypt, Libya and Sudan”.
Chadian solidarity for the most vulnerable
Agreeing with his comments, Alpha Seydi Ba, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCRWest Africa’s regional spokesman for West and Central Africa spoke of the dire situation in Chad, where more than 600,000 Sudanese have arrived since the crisis began. “You saw dozens of people coming in every day in very, very bad condition and most of them were women, children who had gone through the unimaginable, unimaginable traumahe say.
Chad hosted more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees before this crisis, Mr. Ba explained, before expressing appreciation from the UN agency that the authorities “have kept their borders open”.
But meeting refugees’ basic needs such as shelter, food, access to education for children and psychological support is becoming increasingly difficult due to lack of funding.
UNHCR said the response plan of five neighboring countries hosting people fleeing Sudan, totaling $1.4 billion, is only nine percent were funded. Humanitarian Response inside Sudan still only 16% funded.
Medical collapse
Meanwhile, the United Nations health agency WHO has sounded the alarm over the dire health care situation in the country, warning that the country is “collapsing”.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told journalists in Geneva that about 65% of the population currently lacks access to care. “The health care system in Sudan is often heavily dependent on Khartoum, where the health care system has been in decline,” he explains.
“Only about 25% of the necessary medical supplies are available in the country. In hard-to-reach areas, only 20 to 30% of health facilities are operational and even at minimal levels.”
Measles threat
A WHO spokesperson warned that the number of measles cases will reach a record in 2023 due to reduced vaccination rates due to conflict.
“Unfortunately, we expect 2024 to be even worse,” he added.
The WHO said cholera, malaria and dengue fever were also on the rise and expressed concern about the lack of treatment for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney failure.
