UN: 638,000 people face catastrophic hunger in Sudan

Moatinoon - Agencies
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep concern about the catastrophic deterioration of the situation in Sudans North Darfur state, where its capital, El Fasher, is witnessing ongoing violent attacks.

These attacks come just two weeks after an attack on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), which are suffering from famine. Hundreds of civilians, including humanitarian workers, were reportedly killed.

In a statement attributable to his Spokesperson, the Secretary-General expressed deep concern about reports of harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary detention of IDPs at checkpoints, with an estimated 400,000 people forced to flee Zamzam camp alone earlier this month.

He said that despite ongoing insecurity and a severe funding shortage, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are doing their utmost to expand support. Emergency, urgently needed, in the Tawila area of North Darfur, which hosts the majority of the displaced from Zamzam.

He noted that the scale of needs is "enormous," with reports of desperate people, mostly women and children, crossing the border into Chad in search of safety and assistance.

Violence against civilians continues in other parts of Sudan, with reports of mass killings in Omdurman, Khartoum State, in recent days.