Sudan Events – Follow-ups
Deputy Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, Toby Harward, expressed his fear of seeing many citizens in the Darfur region in western Sudan die from malnutrition and other preventable diseases, in light of the ongoing armed conflict in the country, unless the amounts of aid crossing the border from Chad are increased, in addition to those coming through the contact lines from Port Sudan, the country’s temporary capital.
Harward participated in a press conference held at the United Nations UN headquarters in New York, on Monday, via video from Chad to talk about his recent two-week visit to Darfur with the UN team.
The visit aims to explore the possibility of re-establishing a permanent and permanent presence for the United Nations UN in the Darfur region, and to talk with local authorities about the matter.
Harward stated that they met tens of thousands of displaced people in the city of Zalingei in Central Darfur State, Jebel Marra and the surrounding areas, which are considered difficult-to-reach areas in the region.
The IDPs in these areas fled the recent conflict in El Fasher, he said, along with other displaced people from previous fighting across Darfur, and others from Khartoum and other areas in eastern Sudan.
The situation is desperate. The leaders of the (IDPs ) camp in Zalingei told us that some of the IDPs are surviving on tree leaves, grain husks and peanut scraps.
They said that between three and five children are dying every day, although we are unable to independently confirm these figures,” the UN official said.
