The situation in Sudan’s North Darfur State remains alarming, as fighting continues to drive families from their homes, the UN has said.
In his press briefing on Wednesday, Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General António Guterres, said shelling reportedly hit the market area inside the Abu Shouk camp on Tuesday, killing three civilians and injuring many more.
“As a reminder, this is a displacement camp where famine was confirmed last year. This tragic incident is another reminder of the toll this conflict is taking on civilians,” he said.
Prior to the Tuesday incident, Dujarric went on, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 3,200 people had fled Abu Shouk camp and parts of El Fasher between June 26 and July 6, and that they were seeking safety in places like As Serief, Tawila and At Tina.
He disclosed that the, the humanitarian situation in the Kordofan region was also deteriorating, pointing out that the ongoing violence was forcing more people to flee, often into areas with little or no assistance.
IOM, he said, reported that on July 5, nearly 800 people were displaced from Bara, in North Kordofan State, and were now sheltering in White Nile State.
Dujarric asserted that despite the challenges, the humanitarian partners were doing everything they could to keep services running.
“In North Darfur, they are supporting over 1.7 million human beings with basic healthcare, using both remaining health facilities and mobile clinics. However, medical supplies are running critically low,” he said.
A humanitarian convoy that crossed into Darfur from Chad on July 6 – and that convoy was led by our Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Antoine Gerard – is carrying 180 metric tonnes of life-saving relief items for almost 400,000 conflict-affected and displaced people both in the East and South Darfur states.
In another development, Dujarric said, flash flooding was threatening to make it more difficult for humanitarians to reach people in need.
“Today in eastern Sudan, heavy rains triggered flash floods in the Northern Delta locality of Kassala State. This comes as authorities began releasing water from several major dams to manage rising floodwaters. OCHA is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as they come in,” he explained.
Dujarric quoted the Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterating the need for the safe and the unimpeded humanitarian access and called on the international community to scale up support for the most vulnerable people in Sudan.
This year’s $4.2 billion response plan for Sudan is less than 25 per cent funded, that is halfway into the year, and it has just $917 million in the bank.