OCHA warns intensifying hostilities face new displacement

By Anjali Sharma 
UNITED NATIONS -UN aid coordination office warned on Tuesday that the situation across Sudan’s Kordofan region is rapidly worsening OCHA said that hostilities have been intensifying between the Sudanese Armed Forces and two armed groups the rival Rapid Support Forces militia has been battling the military government for control since April 2023 and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North.

According to initial information from the UN human rights office the drone attacks targeted a UN base killed 6 peacekeepers from the UNIFSA mission, while 6 people were killed in a hospital attack in South Kordofan State. OCHA said artillery shelling was reported on Monday, posing further threats to civilians. “I urge all parties to the conflict and States with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities,” said UN human rights chief Volker Türk in a statement.

Mr. Türk also cautioned that medical facilities are protected under international humanitarian law. UN International Organization for Migration estimated that over 1,700 people were displaced between Thursday and Saturday from multiple towns in South Kordofan. In North Darfur State, displacement continues to rise from the besieged El Fasher into Tawila, where the UN is delivering emergency aid. Over 25,000 people in Twila have been registered since late October, after fleeing along insecure routes where they face extreme danger. WFP assisted about half a million people in Tawila in November and has reached some 2 million people every month across the Darfur region.

UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq s providing an update on Sudan, were evacuated to the UN mission headquarters in the disputed Abyei region on Tuesday morning. Other injured personnel were also evacuated there, and four of them have since been sent to Nairobi, Kenya, for further medical treatment. The remains of the 6 fallen soldiers have been transported to Entebbe, Uganda, and arrangements are underway for their repatriation to Bangladesh. Mr. Haq underscored that “attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and call for accountability