Khartoum, May 3 (Reuters) – UN pressured Sudan warring factions On Wednesday, six trucks were looted to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian aid after airstrikes in the capital undermined a supposed ceasefire.
The UN’s aid chief, Martin Griffiths, said he hoped to meet directly with the parties to the conflict in Sudan within a few days to secure security for the aid convoy to deliver relief supplies. rice field.
The meeting could be held in the capital Khartoum or elsewhere, Griffiths told Reuters by phone. interview From Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after visiting Port Sudan with the aim of planning a large-scale relief effort.
“It’s important for me to actually meet face-to-face to discuss this because we need to make it a public, accountable moment,” he said.
The United Nations Army and Militia Emergency Support Force (RSF)erupts on April 15, threatening a humanitarian catastrophe that could spread to other countries. Sudan said on Tuesday that 550 people had been killed and another 4,926 injured in the conflict so far.
Airstrikes were heard in Khartoum and the neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bari on Wednesday, but the two sides had agreed to extend a series of volatile and broken truces for another seven days starting Thursday.
In Khartoum, millions of people were trying to protect themselves from a war between an army using airstrikes and heavy weapons and RSF forces infiltrating residential areas.
Most hospitals were closed and food and fuel supplies were reduced, leaving many areas without power and water.
The Sudanese military said it would send a special envoy to meet with leaders of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti as international mediators press for peace talks.
Aid has stalled in a country of 46 million people, about a third of whom already depended on relief aid.
[1/6] UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths watches a meeting with Red Sea Mayor Fatalah Al-Hajj Ahmed (not pictured) following the crisis in Khartoum, the capital of Port Sudan. . , Sudan 3 May 2023. REUTERS/Ibrahim Mohammed Ishak
Griffiths said earlier that the United Nations World Food Program had told them that six of their trucks en route to the western region of Darfur had been looted en route, despite assurances of safety and security.
In an interview with Reuters, Griffiths spoke by phone Wednesday to army leader Abdel Fattah al-Bahhan and RSF commander-in-chief Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedoti, on Wednesday, saying specific aid corridors and airlift operations are needed. said to have told him.
“We are very clear in our operational requirements about what we need in terms of commitments from them,” he said.
Pressure Generals, UN Says
In Nairobi, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the international community must tell both leaders that the situation is unacceptable. The two generals must face pressure to stop fighting, start dialogue, and allow a transition to civilian government.
Burhan’s special envoy, Dafallah Alhaj, said the military had accepted talks in Cairo, but that there would be no direct talks with the RSF and that communication would be through intermediaries.
South Sudan said both sides agreed to a ceasefire and agreed to send representatives to talks. In a tweet Wednesday, Mr. Hemedoti said he was committed to “opening and securing safe passage.” The RSF later claimed in a Facebook post that its forces “still control his 90% of his three cities in Khartoum” and “fully committed to the declared humanitarian ceasefire.” said to have confirmed.
About 100,000 people have fled Sudan to neighboring countries with little food or water, according to the United Nations.
The conflict escalated into Darfur, where the RSF emerged from tribal militias that fought on the side of government forces to crush rebels in the war 20 years ago.
The military and RSF joined forces in a coup two years ago to share power as part of a transition to internationally supported free elections and civilian government.
Written by Michael Georgy.Edited by Simon Cameron Moore
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