New York - Khartoum: Europe and the Arabs
Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, denounced the continued expansion of fighting in Sudan. He said that the clashes that took place today outside Wad Madani, which is also a humanitarian center, threaten tens of thousands of civilians who were previously displaced due to the conflict. According to what was stated in the daily United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Saturday morning
With 8 months having passed since the outbreak of war in Sudan, Griffiths said that the time has come to end it. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that all humanitarian field missions within Al-Jazira State, which includes the city of Wad Madani, have stopped until further notice.
The office indicated that Al-Jazira State, which is known as the bread basket of Sudan, is an important center for humanitarian operations carried out by the United Nations. The state hosts more than half a million displaced people who have fled due to fighting since April 15.
Wad Madani is 136 kilometers southeast of the capital, Khartoum. It was reported that shops and markets were closed in the city due to fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, and a main bridge was also partially closed.
The outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April has combined “a worsening humanitarian catastrophe with a catastrophic human rights crisis,” and the volatile Darfur region has been particularly affected, a senior UN official said.
According to the United Nations daily news bulletin, about nine million people need humanitarian assistance, and reports indicate that about 4,000 people have been targeted and killed because of their tribal affiliation. There are now fears that Darfur could return to the cycle of brutal fighting and increasing atrocities that it last witnessed twenty years ago, which caused the deaths of about 300,000 people and the displacement of millions of others.