Sudan: UN rights chief appeals for greater protection of civilians in besieged El Fasher
“The horror unfolding in Sudan knows no bounds,” Volker Türk said in a statement calling for an end to the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and former ally the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now in its third year….
Anthrax outbreak compounds security crisis in eastern DR Congo
And with nearly seven million people forcibly displaced by violence since advances by M23 rebels earlier this year, the DRC is facing one of the world’s most complex displacement crises, according to the UN migration agency (IOM). Living in overcrowded…
UN alert over deepening crisis in Sudan as famine spreads and violence escalates
In a statement issued by his Spokesperson on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “appalled” by the deteriorating situation in North Darfur, where the regional capital, El Fasher, is under intense and sustained attack. The onslaught comes just…
Destitution and disease stalk Myanmar’s quake survivors
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is just one of the UN agencies working to help the most vulnerable in worst-hit central areas, but much more help is needed. “When it rains, they can’t sleep, and when the rain stops,…
DR Congo crisis forces refugees to swim for their lives to Burundi
“We’re pushed to our limits,” said Ayaki Ito, Director for Emergencies for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. One mother was so desperate to reach safety she crossed the 100-metre wide Rusizi river separating DRC and Burundi with her three small…
Sudan situation ‘absolutely devastating’ as UN ramps up food aid
Speaking in Port Sudan after a visit to Khartoum, Samantha Chattaraj, Emergency Coordinator for the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan, said that “vast parts of the city are destroyed. Levels of hunger and desperation are extremely high,” but…
Hundreds killed in Sudan’s camps for displaced people
Violent clashes between armed militias and forces of the military Government have escalated dramatically across North Darfur in recent weeks as Sudan marked two years of civil war. The El Fasher and Zamzam camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were…
Sexual violence systematically used as a weapon of war in the DR Congo
Senior UN officials warned on Wednesday that all parties involved in the conflict are systematically using sexual violence as a tactic of war against civilians. Worsening conditions in the east Escalating attacks by non-State armed groups in eastern DRC have…
Hunger stalks Ethiopia as UN aid agency halts support amid funding cuts
In total, 3.6 million of the “most vulnerable” people in Ethiopia stand to lose WFP food and nutrition assistance unless funding arrives urgently, warned Zlatan Milisic, the UN agency’s Country Director. “Over 10 million people in Ethiopia are acutely food…
Sudan war: Hundreds of thousands flee renewed violence in North Darfur
Renewed attacks on camps – including Zamzam and Abu Shouk – that were sheltering those displaced by earlier violence have now forced an estimated 400,000 to 450,000 people to flee again. According to the Office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator…