IOM: Tens of Thousands in Sudan Risk Death if World Doesn’t Step Up Response

Sudanese already displaced by conflict, walk near tents at a makeshift campsite they were evacuated to following deadly floods in the eastern city of Kassala on August 12, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese already displaced by conflict, walk near tents at a makeshift campsite they were evacuated to following deadly floods in the eastern city of Kassala on August 12, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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IOM: Tens of Thousands in Sudan Risk Death if World Doesn’t Step Up Response

Sudanese already displaced by conflict, walk near tents at a makeshift campsite they were evacuated to following deadly floods in the eastern city of Kassala on August 12, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese already displaced by conflict, walk near tents at a makeshift campsite they were evacuated to following deadly floods in the eastern city of Kassala on August 12, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) urged countries to step up their donations in response to the world's largest displacement crisis in Sudan, warning on Tuesday that inaction could cost tens of thousands of lives.

The IOM has received just 21% of the support it needs to provide crucial aid to the Sudanese, already plagued by conflict and now facing hunger, disease and floods, Mohamed Refaat, who leads the IOM's Sudan mission, told a briefing.

"The international community is not doing enough," Refaat said.

"Without an immediate massive and coordinated global response, we risk witnessing tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the coming months," he added.

Some one in five people have been displaced in Sudan, with 10.7 million people internally displaced and 2.3 million having fled across borders, Reuters quoted the IOM as saying.

A conflict in Sudan that erupted in April 2023 has unleashed waves of ethnic violence and created famine-like conditions across the country.



Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
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Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)

A drone attack halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Tuesday only hours before its US operator signed a deal to develop another field.

The Sarsang field is operated by HKN Energy, a privately held US oil and gas company active in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and owned by Hillwood Energy, part of the Hillwood group founded by Ross Perot Jr.

Two hours after the morning attack, HKN Vice President Matthew Zais was in Baghdad with Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani to sign a preliminary agreement to develop the Himreen oilfield in northern Iraq, the oil ministry said, Reuters reported.

The signing ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador Steven Fagin, whose embassy condemned the drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the Kurdistan region and urged the Iraqi government to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

Washington said such attacks undermine Iraq’s sovereignty and efforts to attract foreign investment.

Production at the Sarsang field was halted as a precautionary measure after an explosion, two engineers told Reuters.

Kurdistan regional authorities confirmed that the blast was from a drone attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said that initial investigations suggested that the drone came from areas under the control of Iran-backed militias.

Heavy plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Sarsang field in the Dohuk region of northern Iraq, said one oil engineer at the field.

Field operator HKN said that the halt to production was to allow firefighters to extinguish the fire, later adding that emergency response teams contained the damage.

There were no casualties, Iraqi Kurdistan's ministry of natural resources and HKN said.

The incident is under investigation and a full assessment of the damage has been initiated, the company said without providing further detail on the cause of the explosion.

On Monday two drones fell on the Khurmala oilfield near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, damaging the water pipes at the field.