U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed Wednesday for an end to the fighting in Sudan and international support for the Sudanese people, who he said are facing a humanitarian catastrophe, Ednews informs via VOA.
“Aid must be allowed into Sudan, and we need secure and immediate access to be able to distribute it to people who need it most,” Guterres said during a news conference in Nairobi, Kenya. “Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected, and humanitarian workers and their assets must be respected.”
Sudan’s Health Ministry says over 500 people have been killed and nearly 5,000 wounded since the fighting began on April 15, during a power struggle between the leaders of the Sudanese government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The U.N.'s International Organization for Migration said this week that at least 334,000 people have been internally displaced by the fighting, in addition to the 100,000 who have fled the country. The agency has warned the fighting could cause more than 800,000 people to flee the northeastern African country.
Many are going to the seven countries that border Sudan, including Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Egypt and Ethiopia.
