The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday said the escalating conflict in Sudan’s Kordofan region continues to force civilians from their homes and place people at grave risk.
Stéphane Dujarric, who was updating the press in New York, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 1,000 people were displaced by clashes between the 20 and 24 January from the besieged cities of Kadugli and Dilling, all in South Kordofan.
“Since October, more than 65,000 people have been uprooted across the wider Kordofan region. The UN Refugee Agency also observed that 6,500 people have crossed into South Sudan since early December,” he said. “In the Darfur region and the State of North Darfur, we and our humanitarian partners scaled up crucial assistance over the past two weeks. In the locality of Tawila and in areas surrounding the state capital of El Fasher, our partners vaccinated more than 140,000 children against measles and rubella. All of that being done in a conflict situation.”
“They also provided more than 9,000 health consultations and reached 65,000 people with safe water and sanitation services, and community kitchens supported by us delivered daily meals to 13,000 people,” Dujarric added.
He disclosed that despite these efforts, humanitarian needs, particularly in the areas of food aid, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene, and education, remain unmet for many people.
“Meanwhile, IOM reports a 10 percent increase in people returning to their areas of origin, mostly in Khartoum and Al Jazirah, over the past month, with more than 3.3 million people recorded as having gone back to their homes,” Dujarric said. “But people are often returning to homes in areas with damaged infrastructure, limited services, and continued fighting, and children continue to bear the brunt of this crisis.”
“We again urge all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to ensure an environment where there is rapid, safe, unhindered, and sustained humanitarian assistance,” he concluded.