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by IANS |
United Nations, Feb 5 (IANS) Escalating hostilities in Sudan's North Darfur and South Kordofan states are increasing civilian casualties and displacements, causing extreme concern, UN humanitarians said.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over the past 10 months, more than 600,000 people fled El Fasher and other localities in North Darfur to seek safety, Xinhua news agency reported.
"In recent weeks, attacks have been reported across much of El Fasher and surrounding areas, including the Abu Shouk displacement camp, the Saudi hospital and the western areas of the town," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday. "Famine conditions were confirmed in Abu Shouk camp in December and are expected to persist through May of this year."
The office is also alarmed by escalating hostilities in South Kordofan amid fighting between the Sudanese army and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.
OCHA said that in the South Kordofan capital, Kadugli, more than 50 people were reportedly killed on Monday, primarily women and children, following a series of airstrikes. More than two dozen others were injured.
The UN resident humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, condemned the relentless and intensifying shelling and air and drone strikes against civilians in conflict-affected areas, describing the violence as not warfare but a "ruthless assault on human life."
"As hostilities continue across the country, civilians there also face the threat of explosive remnants of war," OCHA said. Last week, two children were killed by unexploded ordnance in Gereida, in South Darfur State. "That is what local humanitarian colleagues are telling us."
The office said that more than 13 million people in Sudan need support to address the threats of explosive hazards, but funding for response remains limited.
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