Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 16th May. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami said on Wednesday that the international community must give greater attention and resources to war-ravaged Sudan, where millions are “trapped in an inferno of brutal violence”.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, warned that “time is running out” as famine, disease and fighting close in on the population “and there’s no end in sight”.
“The international community cannot stand by as this crisis spirals out of control, as the noose of this conflict tightens its stranglehold on the civilian population,” she said at the press conference in New York.
Ms. Nkweta-Salami brought attention to the escalating hostilities in El Fasher, in North Darfur state, where clashes this past weekend reportedly caused numerous casualties and displacement.
She warned that “if the parties do not pull back from the brink”, the consequences will be devastating for the 800,000 people there.
She said that desperately needed humanitarian aid cannot get into the city.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami noted that dozen trucks loaded with critical supplies for 120,000 people that had set out from the coastal city of Port Sudan on 3 April still have not reached El Fasher due to insecurity and clearance delays at checkpoints.
“The fighting in El Fasher is another tragic example of this conflict’s grotesque impact on civilians,” she said.
UN agencies to respond to the devastation in Sudan, where thousands have been killed, homes and civilian infrastructure destroyed and horrific atrocities have been committed, including rape, torture and ethnically-motivated violence.
Some 18 million people are going hungry and at least five million people are on the brink of famine.
Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis. Some nine million people have been forced to seek shelter, whether elsewhere in the country or across the border.
Most Sudanese now lack access to healthcare and an entire generation is missing out on education.
UN agencies warned that famine is on the horizon, and the window to act is fast closing.
“We have just six weeks before the lean season sets in, when food becomes less available and more expensive,” Ms. Nkweta-Salami said.
“In short, the people of Sudan are in the path of a perfect storm that is growing more lethal by the day,” she cautioned.
She underscored the UN’s commitment to stay and deliver in the country, she noted that diplomatic efforts continue around the clock to bring the parties to the negotiating table to “silence the guns”.
“When that is achieved, the UN is ready to scale up support recovery and reconstruction,” she said.
The humanitarians require unfettered access to reach people in need. Financial support is critical as a $2.7 humanitarian appeal to support their operations is12 per cent funded. Finally, greater engagement is needed to end the fighting, she added.
“It’s time for increased advocacy, increased attention and increased resources,” she said.
She concluded that “Time is running out. We need action now.”
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