In a statement issued over the weekend, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, warned that the humanitarian community in Sudan has faced critical and intensifying operational challenges in North Darfur.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, while briefing the media on Monday, said the challenges were driven by the forced and large-scale displacement of civilians from established infrastructure and humanitarian services.
“The UN continues to call on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law – and urges donors to provide rapid and flexible funding to maintain the humanitarian response in North Darfur,” he said.
According to Dujarric, the UN has been warning of the horrifying reports that they are getting from El Fasher and Zamzam camp in North Darfur State.
“Those horrendous reports include the killings, sexual violence, and huge displacement, as well as the massive humanitarian needs of those who are there,” he stated.
Dujarric said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, on Monday spoke by phone separately with General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces and with General Abdelrahim Dagalo of the Rapid Support Forces, who is the second-in-command of the RSF forces.
“He noted their commitment to give us full access to get aid in. The Under-Secretary-General stressed that we are mobilized to reach and support civilians,” he said. “The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also warns that the situation is further compounded by rising levels of food insecurity, placing people at heightened risk of malnutrition and famine.”