Sudan relief operations ‘on the brink of collapse’
CAIRO
The U.N. migration agency has warned that humanitarian efforts in Sudan's war-torn North Darfur region might come to a complete halt unless immediate funding and safe delivery of relief supplies are ensured.
“Despite the rising need, humanitarian operations are now on the brink of collapse,” the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. “Warehouses are nearly empty, aid convoys face significant insecurity, and access restrictions continue to prevent the delivery of sufficient aid,” it added.
The IOM said more funding is needed to ease the humanitarian impact of the war between the Sudanese army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The agency warned of “an even greater catastrophe" if its appeal went unheeded.
“Our teams are responding, but insecurity and depleted supplies mean we are only reaching a fraction of those in need,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement.
The RSF's recent capture of North Darfur's capital, el-Fasher, left hundreds dead and forced tens of thousands of people to flee reported atrocities by the paramilitary force, according to aid groups and U.N. officials.
The IOM said nearly 90,000 people have left el-Fasher and surrounding villages.
Tens of thousands have arrived at overcrowded displacement camps in Tawila, about 70 kilometers from el-Fasher. In the camps, the displaced find themselves in barren areas with few tents and insufficient food and medical supplies.
Doctors Without Borders warned that malnutrition in displacement camps has reached “staggering” rates. Over 70 percent of children under the age of 5 in Tawila were acutely malnourished, and more than a third experienced severe acute malnutrition, the group said.
