Children in central and eastern Sudan await humanitarian relief from United Nations agencies.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today sounded the alarm again about the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan. Displacement in Sudan is deepening, with hundreds of thousands more people being forced to flee in Gezira State, southeast of the capital, Khartoum, as a result of the latest fighting, the agency said.
Heavy fighting reportedly broke out on December 15 on the outskirts of Wadhmedani, the capital of Gezira State, and has now spread to the city. More than 500,000 people have fled Khartoum since the conflict in Sudan began on April 15 this year.
Panicked crowds fled
UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said on the 19th that the latest round of fighting has caused panic among Wadmaidani residents, and people have left by car or on foot, some of whom have fled for the second time in just a few months. The International Organization for Migration estimates that between 250,000 and 300,000 people have fled Wadmaidani and its surrounding areas.
Spindler noted that UNHCR is working to deliver and distribute urgently needed core relief supplies to displaced persons who have recently arrived in Sennar and Gadariff states. He warned that, despite the efforts of national and international humanitarian organizations and local actors in the Sudan to provide assistance, the overall humanitarian situation remains dire.
Fears of further expansion of the fighting
In April this year, clashes broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The ongoing fighting has forced more than 7 million Sudanese to flee their homes, including in neighbouring countries for refuge, many of whom have already traveled.
UNHCR is concerned that if the fighting escalates further and spreads to the southern state of White Nile, it could severely affect the work of humanitarian organizations, which support more than 437,000 South Sudanese refugees and some 433,000 Sudanese internally displaced persons.
The Secretary-General expressed concern
UN Secretary-General spokesman Dujarric told reporters at the headquarters in New York on the 19th that Secretary-General Guterres also expressed deep concern about reports of fighting around Wadmaidani.
Dujarric noted that Wadmaidani, which has been a hub for humanitarian operations since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, has not been directly affected by the fighting until then.
"The continued escalation of violence in Sudan is devastating for the country and the region as a whole," he stressed. ”
He reiterated the United Nations' call on the belligerents to cease fighting immediately and to commit themselves to a lasting cessation of hostilities.
