Rhino: The United Nations announced on Thursday that South Kordofan and Blue Nile states are on the brink of disaster, with violence continuing to escalate at an alarming rate.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta Salami, said in a press release that the outbreak of fighting in Kadugli, South Kordofan, has killed at least 80 civilians and injured dozens more.
The statement added: “I condemn the reported use of women and children as human shields in Kadugli, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the arrest of civilians, including children.”
On Tuesday, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, announced that it had repelled an attack by the Sudanese army that was using civilians as human shields after they were forcibly displaced from inside Kadugli neighborhoods to the “Hajar al-Mak” area near their areas of control and put them in the line of fire, according to a statement.
In Blue Nile State, humanitarian needs also remain critical, with the threat of violence and reports of mass mobilization for conflict threatening further violence.
Worsening insecurity threatens to push the two states of Juba and Port Sudan into a deeper crisis, where civilians have long been cut off from life-saving assistance and basic services due to severe shortages of medical supplies, limited humanitarian access, and ongoing conflict, she said in a statement.
“This is a critical moment, as the consequences of food insecurity are already being felt in parts of South Kordofan, where families are living on dangerously limited food supplies and malnutrition rates are rising sharply,” he said.
If the fighting continues, more people will be left without access to vital aid, humanitarian suffering will worsen, and more lives will be lost, the statement said.
“All parties to the conflict must de-escalate tensions and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and must allow humanitarian organizations safe and unrestricted access to those in dire need.”
