U.N. Calls for Aid to Reach Zones Hit by Sudan Unrest
The U.N. Security Council expressed concern Tuesday over food shortages in areas affected by clashes between Sudan and South Sudan and called on Khartoum to allow humanitarian access.
A statement by the council expressed "deep and growing alarm with the rising levels of malnutrition and food insecurity in some areas of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in Sudan, which could reach emergency levels if not immediately addressed."
The statement cited a lack of access for international humanitarian personnel to assess the needs and called upon the government of Sudan "to allow immediate access to U.N. personnel, including access to conduct a needs assessment."
The United Nations statement also urged the Sudan government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Northern Sector (SPLM-N) "to cooperate fully with the U.N. and other humanitarian agencies and organizations, and ensure ... the safe, unhindered and immediate access of U.N. and other humanitarian personnel, as well as the delivery of supplies and equipment."
At least 105,000 Sudanese refugees have fled into South Sudan since fighting erupted in the states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile last year, after Khartoum moved to assert its authority in the wake of southern secession.
The refugees are adding to the woes of the grossly impoverished South, which is reeling from internal crises including a wave of bloody ethnic violence, rebel attacks and severe food shortages.
In addition, Juba is struggling to support over 364,000 people who have returned to their homeland since October 2010 from the north, where they fled during the war.
An estimated 700,000 ethnic southerners remain in north Sudan, where aid officials are increasingly concerned for their future, with an April 8 deadline approaching for them to either register or leave Sudan.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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