The UN delivered a warning Tuesday about the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan.
“I regret to inform you that Sudan continues to spiral into chaos,” Edem Wosornu, director of the operations and advocacy division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), told the Security Council.
She noted that the briefing is the sixth in less than four months on Sudan’s humanitarian emergency, underscoring the critical need for immediate and decisive action.
Wosornu stressed that El Fasher is at the “epicenter” of the crisis and the “lives of 800,000 people — of women, children and men, of the elderly and people with disabilities — hang in the balance.”
“What we are witnessing in El Fasher is the result of unrestrained and indiscriminate violence with little regard for the tremendous misery and suffering caused,” she said.
Noting the severe food insecurity plaguing the nation, she said: “Famine is imminent. Almost 5 million people face emergency levels of food insecurity.”
“Over 2 million people in 41 hunger hotspots are at high risk of slipping into catastrophic hunger in the coming weeks,” she said, warning that “7,000 new mothers could die in the next few months if they don’t get access to food and healthcare.”
Despite the urgent need, Wosornu stressed that the humanitarian appeal is severely underfunded.
“We have so far received $441 million — a measly 16% of our total $2.7 billion requirement,” Wosornu said, and stressed that her office is in a “race against time to avert massive loss of life.”
Wosornu reiterated three key demands, including the protection of civilians and infrastructure, ensuring humanitarian access and increasing funding for aid operations.
“Let me be clear. The ultimate ask is for this horrific conflict to stop,” she added.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, expressed concern about the escalating violence, especially in El Fasher.
“Despite efforts by the UN, its member states, and regional organizations, we have not succeeded in preventing the escalation of violence in the country and notably in El Fasher,” said Pobee.
She warned that the fighting could lead to “more mass suffering by the civilian population,” citing atrocities along ethnic lines and severe shelling in populated areas.
Pobee emphasized the significance of Security Council resolution 2736 in 2024, which was recently adopted, that urged an end to the military confrontation. She cautioned that without swift action, Sudan risks further ethnic violence and conflict spillover.
“The human rights situation remains appalling,” she said, calling for accountability and justice for victims.
Pobee urged all parties to “embrace dialogue, desist from destructive blame games, and seek every opportunity for peace.”