<\/p>\n
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that drone attacks are increasing risks for civilians and disrupting humanitarian operations in Sudan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The warning follows a reported strike on Sunday in Ghara al Zawiya village in North Darfur, where international media reported that at least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to information shared by the UN Human Rights Office, the strike reportedly hit a traditional court. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been at war since April 2023.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
OCHA said renewed drone attacks in recent days in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, have also placed civilians, critical infrastructure and humanitarian operations at risk.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said humanitarian teams are scaling up efforts to reach families affected by fighting in North Kordofan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fletcher said humanitarian organisations will use every available opportunity to expand lifesaving assistance in and around El Obeid.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fletcher called on the warring parties to de-escalate, protect civilians and allow safe humanitarian access.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
OCHA also appealed for stronger donor support for Sudan\u2019s humanitarian response. The agency said about $1.2 billion of the $2.9 billion required this year has been received so far.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict are continuing. UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the UN and international partners working through the Quintet held consultations last week with Sudanese political leaders from across the political spectrum.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Quintet includes the Office of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan, the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States and the European Union. \u201cDiscussions continued on proposals and perspectives for advancing the political process,\u201d Haq said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Haq said the talks included confidence-building measures aimed at supporting an inclusive, Sudanese-led and Sudanese-owned process.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN Secretary-General\u2019s Personal Envoy for Sudan Pekka Haavisto has urged all parties to make concrete commitments to de-escalation and engage in genuine dialogue towards a cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Haavisto spoke on Sunday with Sudanese Foreign Minister Muhieddine Salem about recent developments and preparations for an upcoming visit to Khartoum.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Haavisto is also continuing engagement with RSF Leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, on practical steps to reduce violence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Haavisto is expected to travel to T\u00fcrkiye this week for talks with authorities and Sudanese stakeholders, including youth and women representatives.<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":41546,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-41543","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United Nations (UN) says drone strikes in Sudan are killing civilians and making it harder for aid workers to reach communities affected by war.","published_date":"","news_description":"The United Nations (UN) says drone strikes in Sudan are killing civilians and making it harder for aid workers to reach communities affected by war.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41547,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41543\/revisions\/41547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=41543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}