Protection of Civilians

With security and humanitarian crises mounting across much of Africa, the international community is making a mistake by not engaging fully with South Sudan, which is at the centre of an increasingly volatile region.

That’s the view of the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the world’s youngest nation, Nicholas Haysom, who told UN News that if a fresh crisis erupts there in combination with the military power struggle in neighbouring Sudan, it would be “catastrophic” for the whole Horn of Africa.

UN Women is giving financial and technical support to young Sudanese who are leveraging the power of apps to keep women and girls safe amid the continuing military showdown that’s seen more than 100,000 already flee the country.

Conditions for children caught up in Sudan’s military showdown are critical, with at least nine dead and over 50 injured, though the UN Children’s Fund fears that total is probably much higher.

Ammar Ammar, UNICEF’s Jordan-based regional chief of advocacy and communications covering Sudan, said only a lasting humanitarian truce can help restore shattered services, and for now it’s too dangerous for their lifesaving work to continue.

Ezzat El-Ferri of UN News Arabic, began by asking him to describe what UNICEF’s doing to help ease the suffering.

More resources are urgently needed for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to meet the needs of thousands of refugees and internally displaced, who are fleeing the bloody showdown between rival military factions in Sudan.

That’s according to Faith Kasina, Regional Spokesperson for UNHCR who is based in Nairobi. Ezzat El-Ferri of UN News’s Arabic service began by asking her for the latest on the extent of internal displacement across the country so far.

A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official has condemned the reported military occupation of at least one hospital in Sudan as a base for attacks, as “an incredibly concerning development.”

Dr. Richard Brennan, WHO Emergency Director for the Eastern Mediterranean region which includes Sudan, told UN News that the use of any health facility by either side in Sudan’s current military power struggle, would be a gross violation of international humanitarian law.

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