Nearly 25 million people need humanitarian assistance in Sudan: UN

WASHINGTON

The UN’s relief chief warned Thursday against the deepening of human suffering in Sudan due to an ongoing war in the country.

"Across Sudan, nearly 25 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024. But the bleak reality is that intensifying hostilities are putting most of them beyond our reach," Martin Griffiths said in a statement.

Nearly nine months of war have tipped Sudan "into a downward spiral that only grows more ruinous by the day," he said. "As the conflict spreads, human suffering is deepening, humanitarian access is shrinking, and hope is dwindling. This cannot continue.”

Stressing that escalating violence is also imperiling regional stability, Griffiths urged the international community, particularly those with influence on parties to the conflict in Sudan, to take "decisive and immediate" action to stop the fighting and safeguard humanitarian operations.

"The war has unleashed the world’s largest displacement crisis, uprooting the lives of more than 7 million people, some 1.4 million of whom have crossed into neighboring countries already hosting large refugee populations.

"For Sudan’s people, 2023 was a year of suffering. In 2024, the parties to the conflict must do three things to end it: Protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian access, and stop the fighting – immediately," he added.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

At least 12,260 victims have been killed and more than 33,000 injured in the conflict, according to UN figures.

A humanitarian crisis continues to worsen as nearly 6.8 million people have fled their homes seeking safety in Sudan or neighboring countries.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi Arabia and US mediators have failed to end the violence.