The UN Security Council has expressed “alarm” at growing violence in Sudan, a day after it reported that seven million people have been displaced by the conflict.
In a joint statement, the Security Council “strongly condemned” attacks on civilians and the spread of the conflict “into areas hosting large populations of internally displaced persons, refugees, and asylum seekers.”
“The members of the Security Council expressed alarm at the spreading violence and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan,” the statement said, reflecting the worsening situation in the country.
The Council called on the warring parties to allow for “rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Sudan.”
Since fighting broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese army the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the city of Wad Madani, 180 kilometers south of Khartoum, had become a haven for thousands of displaced people during the conflict.
But the Security Council said fighting had spread there too, causing refugees to flee once again.
“According to the International Organization for Migration, up to 300,000 people have fled Wad Madani in Al-Jazira state in a new wave of large-scale displacement,” UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.
In addition to the seven million internally displaced people, the UN said another 1.5 million had fled into neighboring countries.
Sudan spiralled into war after soaring tensions between army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo exploded into open fighting in mid-April.
The war broke out due to disagreements over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after former ruler Omar al-Bashir was deposed in an uprising.
More than 12,000 people have been killed, according to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict and Event Data Project, while the United Nations says nearly 6.8 million have been forced to flee their homes.
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