That’s the urgent message from the UN migration agency IOM and top rights experts who, on Monday, backed global calls for a ceasefire, warning that “every moment of continued violence, puts more lives at risk”. Heavy fighting that erupted last April between rival forces and spread across Sudan has pushed more than 1.7 million people into neighbouring countries and uprooted some 10 million in total. Egypt alone hosts more than 415,000 people where IOM helps Sudan’s displaced to rebuild their lives, like Mohammed.
He fled the capital, Khartoum, taking a dangerous bus journey to Egypt last May. It took two days, during which time he saw “unimaginable horrors” including homes shot at or burned. Today, Mohammed remains deeply worried about his relatives who are trapped by fighting in Al Fashir in northern Darfur.
Echoing those concerns, top rights experts who report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva said that almost four in 10 people in Sudan now face acute hunger – 17.7 million in all. The Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts warned that the ongoing conflict had worsened communal tensions. Equally concerning are the lack of resources and lack of international aid, which have “significantly increased the risk of violence between host communities and IDPs”, the rights experts said, referring to internally displaced people.
They warned that the elderly, people with disabilities, women and girls are “falling victims of targeted attacks by the members of the host community”. In a statement, IOM insisted that aid “must reach the millions in need. People must be able to access food, fuel, medicines and other critical supplies and services. People trying to flee, and access assistance should be able to do so safely.”
Source: The UN
The post UN migration agency and rights experts spotlight deepening Sudan crisis appeared first on Vastuullisuusuutiset.fi.