United Nations, Aug 26 (IANS) For the first time in 10 months, an aid convoy made it to the Dilling region in Sudan’s South Kordofan state with life-saving supplies, UN humanitarians said.
The convoy of the UN Children’s Fund will then be headed to the state capital of Kadugli, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
OCHA said the supplies will benefit more than 120,000 vulnerable people in Dilling and Kadugli, where humanitarian needs have reached catastrophic levels and communities have been under siege for months.
However, the humanitarian office said that violence continues to escalate in North Darfur state.
The International Organization for Migration estimated that insecurity forced about 1,000 people to flee the famine-stricken Abu Shouk displacement camp on the outskirts of the besieged state capital of El Fasher on Tuesday and Wednesday.
OCHA said Abu Shouk, hit in several deadly attacks in recent weeks, suffered reported abductions of women and young children in recent days. There are also reports of a new wave of violence in El Fasher itself, including an artillery shelling of the main functioning hospital.
The humanitarian office expressed grave concern over the worsening nutrition crisis in Melit, North Darfur.
A recent survey by Relief International found that one in three children is acutely malnourished, putting thousands of children under 5 at imminent risk of severe illness, developmental complications and death.
Melit is the same area where a World Food Programme aid convoy was attacked last week while trying to offload supplies, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The United Nations and its partners remain committed to providing life-saving support to people as access allows,” OCHA said, adding that “insecurity, logistical challenges and severe underfunding continue to hamper” the efforts.
The office called on all parties to “respect international humanitarian law, ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers, and prioritise the protection of civilians.”
–IANS
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