Geneva: The united nations refugee agency warned on Tuesday of “further displacement” of people from Sudan Thousands of people have flown into neighboring Chad and South Sudan, despite the low numbers Ceasefire between two warring Sudanese generals fighting for control of the country.
The fighting has plunged Sudan into chaos, pushing the already heavily aid-dependent African nation to the brink of collapse.
UNHCR spokeswoman Olga Sarrado said on Tuesday that at least 20,000 Sudanese have fled to Chad since the conflict began on April 15 and some 4,000 South Sudanese refugees – who were living in Sudan – have returned to their country.
The figures could rise, he warned. Sarrado did not have figures for five other countries neighboring Sudan, but the UNHCR cited an unspecified number of people fleeing Sudan to Egypt.
“The fighting is set to trigger displacement both within and outside the country,” he said, speaking at a UN briefing in Geneva.
The UNHCR was stepping up its operations, she said, even as foreign governments rushed to evacuate their embassy staff and citizens from Sudan. Many Sudanese have looked for ways to escape the chaos, fearing their full fight for power will be delayed once the evacuation is complete.
Several previous cease-fires have failed, although intermittent peace during a major Muslim holiday over the weekend allowed a dramatic evacuation of hundreds of diplomats, aid workers and other foreigners by air and land.
More than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees live in Sudan, a quarter of them in the capital Khartoum, where they are directly affected by the fighting.
The UNHCR chief in South Sudan, Marie-Hélène Verney, told from its capital Juba that “the planning figure we have for the most likely scenario is 125,000 South Sudanese returnees and 45,000 refugees in South Sudan,” with Sudanese fleeing. fighting.
The United Nations Population Fund has said the fighting threatens thousands of pregnant women, including 24,000 expected to give birth in the coming weeks. The agency said it is too dangerous for 219,000 pregnant women nationwide to leave their homes to seek urgent care at hospitals and clinics.
Dozens of hospitals across the country have closed in Khartoum and elsewhere because of the fighting and dwindling medical and fuel supplies, according to the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate.
The UN agency warned last Friday, “If the violence does not stop, the health system is at risk of collapse.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross hailed the declared ceasefire as a “potential lifesaver for civilians” trapped in their homes in war-torn areas.
“It is clear that this ceasefire must be enforced up and down the chain of command and maintained in order to bring real relief to the civilian victims of the fighting,” said Patrick Youssef, the ICRC’s regional director for Africa. He called on the international community to help find a “durable political solution to end the bloodshed”.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said it had been forced to “reduce our footprint” because of the fighting. And he pointed to “severe shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel and limited communications and electricity” and new reports of looting of humanitarian warehouses and aid stores.
“Humanitarian needs in Sudan were already at record levels, prior to this recent eruption of fighting … Some 15.8 million people – that’s almost a third of the population – are in need of humanitarian assistance,” he added .
“This (fight) coming on top of this is, I would say, more than just a slap in the face. It’s more than a fist in the face of people who were already in need,” Larke said, echoing the call. To fight to stop”.
The fighting has plunged Sudan into chaos, pushing the already heavily aid-dependent African nation to the brink of collapse.
UNHCR spokeswoman Olga Sarrado said on Tuesday that at least 20,000 Sudanese have fled to Chad since the conflict began on April 15 and some 4,000 South Sudanese refugees – who were living in Sudan – have returned to their country.
The figures could rise, he warned. Sarrado did not have figures for five other countries neighboring Sudan, but the UNHCR cited an unspecified number of people fleeing Sudan to Egypt.
“The fighting is set to trigger displacement both within and outside the country,” he said, speaking at a UN briefing in Geneva.
The UNHCR was stepping up its operations, she said, even as foreign governments rushed to evacuate their embassy staff and citizens from Sudan. Many Sudanese have looked for ways to escape the chaos, fearing their full fight for power will be delayed once the evacuation is complete.
Several previous cease-fires have failed, although intermittent peace during a major Muslim holiday over the weekend allowed a dramatic evacuation of hundreds of diplomats, aid workers and other foreigners by air and land.
More than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees live in Sudan, a quarter of them in the capital Khartoum, where they are directly affected by the fighting.
The UNHCR chief in South Sudan, Marie-Hélène Verney, told from its capital Juba that “the planning figure we have for the most likely scenario is 125,000 South Sudanese returnees and 45,000 refugees in South Sudan,” with Sudanese fleeing. fighting.
The United Nations Population Fund has said the fighting threatens thousands of pregnant women, including 24,000 expected to give birth in the coming weeks. The agency said it is too dangerous for 219,000 pregnant women nationwide to leave their homes to seek urgent care at hospitals and clinics.
Dozens of hospitals across the country have closed in Khartoum and elsewhere because of the fighting and dwindling medical and fuel supplies, according to the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate.
The UN agency warned last Friday, “If the violence does not stop, the health system is at risk of collapse.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross hailed the declared ceasefire as a “potential lifesaver for civilians” trapped in their homes in war-torn areas.
“It is clear that this ceasefire must be enforced up and down the chain of command and maintained in order to bring real relief to the civilian victims of the fighting,” said Patrick Youssef, the ICRC’s regional director for Africa. He called on the international community to help find a “durable political solution to end the bloodshed”.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said it had been forced to “reduce our footprint” because of the fighting. And he pointed to “severe shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel and limited communications and electricity” and new reports of looting of humanitarian warehouses and aid stores.
“Humanitarian needs in Sudan were already at record levels, prior to this recent eruption of fighting … Some 15.8 million people – that’s almost a third of the population – are in need of humanitarian assistance,” he added .
“This (fight) coming on top of this is, I would say, more than just a slap in the face. It’s more than a fist in the face of people who were already in need,” Larke said, echoing the call. To fight to stop”.