NEW YORK CITY: More than 1,850 Sudanese civilians have been killed in North Darfur since January, including an estimated 1,350 in the besieged city of El-Fasher, the UN said on Monday.
However, the true toll is likely to be higher because access to the area is restricted and there are communications challenges amid the civil war in Sudan.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said people in El-Fasher and the surrounding areas have endured severe suffering under a lengthy, tightening siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, one of the warring military factions in the country. Malnutrition, disease and violence continue to claim lives daily.
“The secretary-general strongly condemns reports of violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights in El-Fasher, including indiscriminate attacks, targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, gender-based violence, and ethnically motivated attacks,” Dujarric said.
He repeated calls for an immediate end to the siege and for safe, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in need.
