The United Nations World Food Program said it was scaling up operations in at least six states in Sudan to help 4.9 million vulnerable people, as well as assisting those going to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. to escape the fighting that has raged across the country since April 15.
“The fighting in Sudan is devastating lives and livelihoods and forcing people to flee their homes with nothing but the clothes they are wearing,” WFP East Africa Director Michael Dunford said in a statement.
The UN said on Wednesday that more than half of Sudan’s 46 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, launching a $3 billion aid appeal. It also said it had received reports of “horrific gender violence” in Sudan.
The relief effort was hampered by the deaths of some aid workers early in the conflict and repeated bouts of looting.
Heavy air strikes hit areas south of Sudan’s capital on Thursday, with clashes taking place near a military camp, witnesses said, in fighting that has displaced around 1 million people and left Khartoum residents struggling to survive.
According to the latest estimates, over 840,000 people have been displaced in Sudan and over 220,000 have fled to neighboring countries.
More fights
Army airstrikes against the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were heard in several residential neighborhoods in southern Khartoum, including near Taiba camp, while a reserve force of police aligned with the army fought the RSF, according to the witnesses. The death toll reaches 676.
The army has mainly used airpower and heavy artillery to try to repel the RSF, which has spread across large areas of Khartoum and its neighboring towns of Bahri and Omdurman across the Nile River after fighting broke out on 15 April.
“The bombing and clashes do not stop and there is no way to escape from our homes. All our money is gone,” said Salah el-Din Othman, a 35-year-old Khartoum resident.
“Even if we leave our homes again, we are afraid that gangs will loot everything at home… we are living a nightmare of fear and poverty.”
Violence has also risen in Darfur, western Sudan, North Kordofan state and other parts of the country, but the power struggle is concentrated in the capital.
Both army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, are believed to have remained in Khartoum during the fighting.
On Wednesday, the army released a video showing Burhan dressed in military uniform greeting troops in what appeared to be army headquarters in central Khartoum.
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai and Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo)
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
