US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and others urge warring sides to halt fighting and allow aid into Sudan, including famine-struck areas.
United States-led mediators have said they are “appalled” by the continuously deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan, where a brutal civil war is raging into its third year, and called for urgent action by the warring parties to protect civilians.
The mediators, known as the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) Group, include the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
“The ALPS group urgently reiterates that international humanitarian law must be fully respected. This includes the obligations to protect civilians, including humanitarian personnel, their premises and assets, as well as to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need,” the ALPS Group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The group said it was also appalled by “the growing number of people in situations of severe malnutrition and famine, and by the wide range of access impediments that are delaying or blocking the response in key areas”.
