UN: Cross-Border Aid Delivered to Sudan’s Darfur

On Thursday, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said that UN humanitarians have facilitated cross-border deliveries of assistance from Chad into Sudan's Darfur region despite the ongoing conflict.

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"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that today it facilitated cross-border deliveries of food items by the World Food Programme from Chad into West Darfur," Haq said in an official statement.

Haq also stated that, in the coming weeks, UN agencies and partners are hoping to provide additional assistance, especially food, nutrition, health, water, hygiene and sanitation supplies.

Meanwhile, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UN secretary-general's deputy special representative and resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, is calling for more support for relief efforts immediately, amid the ongoing conflict in the country.

According to Haq, Nkweta-Salami noted, during her mission to Gedaref and Kassala in eastern Sudan, that the situation remains dire, and that additional assistance is urgently needed to meet food, health, and protection needs.

Furthermore, Haq also stated that the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan is gravely concerned about the severe impact of the fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces on civilians in the Darfur region.

He also said that the UN mission urges all forces engaged in hostilities to cease military operations immediately and to resume the Jeddah-facilitated talks.

According to Martin Griffiths, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, cross-border access into the Darfur region represents a key milestone, as the United Nations seeks to access all hard-to-reach areas in Sudan and provide critical humanitarian assistance to people in need, wherever they are.