UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci announced that the delegations of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces are continuing indirect talks in Geneva, Switzerland, while the World Health Organization called for immediate permission for relief supplies to reach the city of El Fasher in western Sudan, to avoid a catastrophic health situation.
The United Nations website quoted Vellucci today, Tuesday, as saying that "the delegations of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces are engaged in the Geneva talks under the leadership of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra," explaining that "Lamamra and his team held several contacts with each of them early this week," without further details.
Health disaster
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization called for immediate access for relief supplies to the city of El Fasher in western Sudan, to avoid a catastrophic health situation, warning that "hunger and fear of famine are haunting Sudan, as 800,000 people are still trapped in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, without sufficient food, water or medical support."
"The violent fighting between the warring parties has made access to El Fasher completely impossible," said Shebl Sahbani, the organization's representative in Sudan, during a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, adding that "the states of Darfur (west), Kordofan (south), Khartoum and Al-Jazeera (central) have all become isolated from humanitarian and health aid due to the ongoing fighting."
He stressed that the situation in Darfur is "particularly worrying, as the wounded in places like El Fasher cannot get the urgent care they need, and children, pregnant and lactating women are vulnerable due to severe hunger."
"The humanitarian response in Sudan is still only 26 percent funded," Sahbani warned, describing the situation as "one of the worst emergencies in the world." He continued, "If we do not get a ceasefire, we can at least get protection for civilians and open humanitarian corridors."
20% of the population displaced
On the humanitarian level, the International Organization for Migration announced that 20% of Sudan's population has been displaced as a result of the fighting between the army and the "Rapid Support Forces" inside and outside the country since April 15, 2023, noting that 2,238,671 people have crossed into neighboring countries.
The organization stated in a statement that the Displacement Tracking Matrix in Sudan indicates that 10 million, 594 thousand, and 576 people were internally and externally displaced until July 3, including 7 million, 794 thousand, and 480 people who were internally displaced since April 15, 2023.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), have been waging a war that has left about 15,000 dead, in addition to a humanitarian disaster that could push millions to famine and death, due to food shortages caused by the fighting that has spread to 12 of the country’s 18 states.