Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis: Urgent Calls for Aid, Access, and Peace - Briefing | United Nations

Briefing by Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on behalf of Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. ------- The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has reached “catastrophic” levels, with millions facing famine and displacement amid ongoing conflict, senior UN officials warned. During a Security Council briefing today (Jan 06) Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy Division, OCHA, said, “More than 11.5 million people are now estimated to be internally displaced, of whom nearly 8.8 million people have been uprooted since April 2023.” Fighting has intensified in multiple regions, including Khartoum, Aj Jazirah, Sennar, South Kordofan, and West Kordofan. Wosornu highlighted a recent escalation in violence at the Zamzam displacement camp, where artillery shelling killed and injured civilians. She also said, “On 19 December – the same day as our last briefing to the Council – three of our World Food Programme colleagues were killed by an airstrike on their compound in Yabus, in Blue Nile State.” The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis indicates famine conditions in five areas, including Zamzam, Al Salam, and Abu Shouk displacement camps, along with the western Nuba Mountains. Wosornu warned that five additional locations in North Darfur face similar risks by May, with 17 other areas also under threat.