UN warns armed violence deepens humanitarian crisis in Sudan

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians on Friday warned that the escalating armed violence in Sudan is putting tens of thousands of people at risk and deepening the humanitarian crisis.

In less than a month, more than 343,000 Sudanese have been displaced across Aj Jazirah State, south of Sudan's capital Khartoum, amid escalating clashes and continued insecurity, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Most of them have fled to the neighboring states of Gedaref and Kassala, where the United Nations and humanitarian partners are working with host communities to provide emergency assistance, including food, shelter, health care, psychosocial services, water, sanitation and hygiene support.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that armed violence in Aj Jazirah State is putting the lives of tens of thousands of people at risk.

An assessment carried out by the office last week found that many of the displaced Sudanese arriving in Gedaref and Kassala had walked for days, with nothing but clothes on their backs. They are now sheltering in the open, including children, women, the old and the sick.

OCHA said the people who have fled the fighting in Aj Jazirah urgently need tents, plastic sheets, heaters, mattresses, medicines, and food. Gedaref has also seen an increase in cholera cases following the latest wave of displacement.

"It's been over a year and a half of unimaginable suffering, brutal atrocities and widespread human rights violations," said Dominique Hyde, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) director of external relations, earlier this month. "Every day of every minute, thousands of lives are shattered by war and violence away from the world's attention."

UN humanitarians repeated their call for the protection of civilians and safe passage for those fleeing, stressing that under international humanitarian law, civilians must be able to access the support they need to survive, whether they leave or stay.