Humanitarian situation in Sudan still deteriorating — UN official

As the violent conflict in Sudan has entered its third month, humanitarian situation across the country continues to deteriorate, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said.

UNITED NATION — As the violent conflict in Sudan has entered its third month, humanitarian situation across the country continues to deteriorate, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said.

Griffiths, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, also warned that situation in Sudan’s Darfur is spiraling into humanitarian calamity, reports Xinhua news agency.

Some 1.7 million people are now internally displaced while close to half a million people have sought refuge outside Sudan, he said.

Looting of medical and humanitarian assets continues on a massive scale and farmers are unable to reach their land, which further raises the risk of food insecurity, the UN official said and noted that there has also been a spike in reports of gender-based violence.

“I am particularly worried about conditions in Darfur where people are trapped in a living nightmare,” Griffiths said in a statement.

In addition to dire humanitarian situations, inter-communal violence is spreading in Darfur, threatening to reignite the ethnic tensions that stoked the deadly conflict there 20 years ago, he said.

He noted that the violence is hampering humanitarians’ efforts, and urged parties to the conflict and those with influence to ensure the movement of humanitarian supplies and personnel from other parts of Sudan, as well as from neighbouring countries, to Darfur where close to 9 million people need assistance.

“Darfur is rapidly spiraling into a humanitarian calamity. The world cannot allow this to happen. Not again,” said Griffiths.

Since the clashes first broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at least 958 people have died, while 4,746 others injured, the Sudanese Doctors’ Union said in its latest update.