UN: War, Hunger Could Destroy Sudan

This picture taken on June 20, 2023, shows a charity kitchen providing food for the displaced at a camp in Wad Madani, the capital of Sudan's al-Jazirah state. (Photo by AFP)
This picture taken on June 20, 2023, shows a charity kitchen providing food for the displaced at a camp in Wad Madani, the capital of Sudan's al-Jazirah state. (Photo by AFP)
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UN: War, Hunger Could Destroy Sudan

This picture taken on June 20, 2023, shows a charity kitchen providing food for the displaced at a camp in Wad Madani, the capital of Sudan's al-Jazirah state. (Photo by AFP)
This picture taken on June 20, 2023, shows a charity kitchen providing food for the displaced at a camp in Wad Madani, the capital of Sudan's al-Jazirah state. (Photo by AFP)

War and hunger threaten to "consume" Sudan where hundreds of thousands of malnourished children are at risk of dying, as fighting between rival generals rages on, the United Nations warned Friday.

"The war in Sudan is fuelling a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions," said Martin Griffiths, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"This viral conflict –- and the hunger, disease and displacement left in its wake –- now threatens to consume the entire country."

"The longer the fighting continues, the more devastating its impact. Some places have already run out of food," Griffiths' statement said.

"Hundreds of thousands of children are severely malnourished and at imminent risk of death if left untreated."

The UN official said that in Kadugli, in South Kordofan state, "food stocks have been fully depleted, as clashes and road blockages prevent aid workers from reaching the hungry."



UN Security Council Says Peacekeeping Force Should Remain on the Israel-Syria Border

Israeli army humvees move in the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
Israeli army humvees move in the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
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UN Security Council Says Peacekeeping Force Should Remain on the Israel-Syria Border

Israeli army humvees move in the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
Israeli army humvees move in the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution extending the UN peacekeeping force on the Israel-Syria border and underscoring that there should be no military activities in the demilitarized buffer zone.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israeli troops will occupy the buffer zone for the foreseeable future. Israel captured the buffer zone shortly after the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, The Associated Press said.
The resolution adopted Friday stressed that both countries are obligated “to scrupulously and fully respect” the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the 1973 war between Syria and Israel and established the buffer zone. The resolution was co-sponsored by the United States and Russia.
The Security Council extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force monitoring the border area, known as UNDOF, until June 30, 2025 and called for a halt to all military actions throughout the country including in UNDOF’s area of operations.
The resolution expresses concern that ongoing military activities in the area of separation have the potential to escalate Israeli-Syrian tensions and jeopardize the 1974 ceasefire. It also expresses alarm that violence in Syria “risks a serious conflagration of the conflict in the region.”