People in Sudan’s El Fasher region are facing starvation, the UN has said.
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, said in his Monday briefing that one year after famine was confirmed in Zamzam camp on the outskirts of El Fasher, the city remains under siege, with no food deliveries by road.
He said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was alarmed by the intensifying conflict, mounting civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions across Sudan.
“Our humanitarian colleagues note that heavy fighting continues in North Darfur State, with multiple reports of civilian casualties in recent days.
“In El Fasher, the state capital, clashes erupted on August 1st and 2nd, following earlier fighting between armed groups, including around the Abu Shouk camp for displaced people which hosts 25,000 people,” Haq explained.
Prices for staple foods like sorghum and wheat, he went on, were more than four times higher than elsewhere in the country, leaving many families unable to afford even the most basic items. Limited cash assistance continues, but it was nowhere near enough to meet rising needs.
Haq disclosed that the town of Um Sumeima in North Kordofan State had changed hands multiple times in recent weeks, highlighting the volatility of the frontlines, with the civilians remaining trapped, and their access to aid heavily restricted.
Meanwhile, cholera continues to spread rapidly across Darfur, Haq disclosed.
“In North Darfur, in the locality of Tawila, nearly 1,200 cases have been reported since late June, including about 300 cases in children and at least 20 deaths,” he said.
The UN’s Children Fund (Unicef) has warned that the lives of more than 640,000 children under five were at heightened risk of violence, disease and hunger in the region.
In South Darfur, health authorities have reported more than 1,100 suspected cases and 64 deaths since late May, with the latest updates pointing to a case fatality rate of over 6 per cent. Shortages of medical supplies, clean water and sanitation services were severely hampering the humanitarian response.
In Khartoum State, the confirmation of landmines in multiple locations adds a dangerous new layer to the explosive threat already faced by civilians. Anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines have now been detected in Mogran, Omdurman and Bahri. These devices are not only maiming and killing civilians but also blocking access to health services, markets and humanitarian aid.
In Blue Nile State, floods in Ed Damazine displaced more than 100 people and destroyed at least 200 tents at Al-Karama camp on August 1, further compounding the challenges facing people who fled their homes due to conflict.
Amid these overlapping crises, OCHA once again called for sustained humanitarian access across Sudan and increased international support for vulnerable people in the country.
OCHA’s Director of Operations, Edem Wosornu, is in Sudan this week to assess the humanitarian situation.
She is expected to also meet with local officials, humanitarian partners and people affected by the crisis.