عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

UN Says Sudan Must Not Be Forgotten

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths (right) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a press conference on Wednesday in Geneva. (Reuters)
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths (right) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a press conference on Wednesday in Geneva. (Reuters)
TT
TT

UN Says Sudan Must Not Be Forgotten

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths (right) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a press conference on Wednesday in Geneva. (Reuters)
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths (right) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a press conference on Wednesday in Geneva. (Reuters)

Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has said the international community needed to act with a heightened sense of urgency to address the war-torn country of Sudan.

"Sudan keeps getting forgotten by the international community," the UN aid chief told diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva on Wednesday.

"There is a certain kind of obscenity about the humanitarian world, which is the competition of suffering, a competition between places: 'I have more suffering than you, so I need to get more attention, so I need to get more money.'"

A war in Sudan between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been ongoing since April, and diplomatic endeavors have failed so far.

“I have been in touch in the last couple of weeks with both generals - Burhan and Hemedti - to get them to follow up their commitments,” regarding the aid delivery, Griffiths said.

Griffiths told reporters the warring sides had been invited to Geneva to discuss how civilians can access aid. He said the parties had agreed in principle, but the details of any meeting still needed to be worked out.

The UN on Wednesday urged countries not to forget the civilians caught up in the war in Sudan, appealing for $4.1 billion to meet their humanitarian needs and support those who have fled to neighboring countries.

Half of Sudan's population - around 25 million people - need humanitarian assistance and protection, while more than 1.5 million people have fled to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, according to the UN.

Meanwhile, Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah met Wednesday in Riyadh with the UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra.

During the meeting, they discussed issues related to relief and humanitarian affairs in Sudan.

Lamamra hailed the humanitarian efforts provided by Saudi Arabia through its humanitarian arm, KSrelief, in Sudan.

Separately, the Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Engineer Walid bin Abdul-Karim Al-Khuraiji, met in Riyadh with the US Special Advisor on Sudan, Daniel Rubinstein, to discuss the developments in Sudan, in addition to regional and international issues.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
TT
TT

Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.

Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said.  

The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the fighters.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut  

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several top commanders.

The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there.  

In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.

The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether the injuries and damage elsewhere were caused by rockets or interceptors.

Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.

Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah command centers in the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the group has a strong presence.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce  

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week.

The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”

Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.

Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of UN peacekeepers.