United Nations: As fierce fighting in Darfur once again pushes thousands of Sudanese to flee their homes, more must be done to alleviate the suffering of the millions already displaced, a UN official tells AFP.
鈥淪ix months and six million people forced to move, that鈥檚 an average of one million per month, it鈥檚 horrible suffering,鈥� said Mamadou Dian Balde, the top regional official for the UN鈥檚 refugee agency (UNHCR).
The war between troops loyal to Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhane and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo has left more than 9,000 dead since April, according to a UN report.
Of the nearly six million who have fled, 1.2 million have left the country, 鈥渧ery proud people who find themselves begging鈥� and whose lives have been 鈥渢otally disrupted,鈥� the UN official said.
He warned that while the world鈥檚 attention has been shifted to the war in Gaza, the number of people fleeing their homes in Sudan had started to rise again, as RSF forces advance toward Nyala, the country鈥檚 second city in the heart of Darfur.
Another UN official in the region, Dominique Hyde, said on social media Thursday she had witnessed 鈥渄ramatic scenes at the border with Sudan.
鈥�10,000 people seeking safety have arrived in the last three days,鈥� she said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meanwhile said he was 鈥渄eeply troubled鈥� at information about an 鈥渋mminent large-scale attack鈥� by Sudan鈥檚 paramilitary forces in El-Facher, the capital of North Darfur.
More and more people from Darfur are being pushed south, first to Chad in recent weeks and now to South Sudan.
Mamadou Dian Balde said the priority was for a cessation of hostilities, noting that ongoing negotiations in 黑料社区鈥檚 Jeddah need to 鈥渟ucceed in stopping the fighting.鈥�
Talks between the warring parties resumed at the end of October. Previous attempts at mediation only resulted in brief truces, which were systematically violated.
In the meantime, 鈥渨e must alleviate the suffering (of refugees) by providing resources to these people whose numbers are only increasing,鈥� he said.
The UN鈥檚 humanitarian response plan in August called for around $1 billion in funding, anticipating a number of 1.8 million refugees by the end of 2023.
That plan has only received 38 percent of the funding required, while 鈥渢he needs are growing,鈥� said the UN official, noting that most refugees were going to the poorest parts of South Sudan and southern Chad, where local communities cannot absorb them.
That means the UN will need to build new camps.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the last thing we want to do,鈥� said the UN official, but 鈥渨e need to create new camps, because the populations are at the border鈥� and in 鈥渆xtremely miserable conditions.鈥�
He also called for helping the local communities.
鈥淲e want development. We have to invest in these places because if we only give support to refugees, it will create tensions and tensions can translate into violence.鈥�