UN chief alarmed over attacks on civilians in North Darfur

December 16, 2024 (EL FASHER) – The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has expressed concerns over the rising number of civilian casualties due to attacks in and around El Fasher, North Darfur State.

The attacks, he said, involved repeated shelling at the Zamzam camp that hosts hundreds of thousands of people and famine conditions were confirmed there earlier this year.

Scores of people were reportedly killed in an alleged missile strike on central El Fasher over the weekend.

“Here again, we condemn all killings of civilians, wherever they occur,” Guterres said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, nine civilians were killed and 20 injured in an attack on El Fasher’s main hospital on Friday.

The hospital, according to Ghebreyesus, is no longer operational following the attack.

This is reportedly part of a broader escalation of attacks across Darfur and in other areas of Sudan.

Meanwhile the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) reiterated calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities so that emergency relief can be provided, and civilians can move to safer locations.

“We reiterate that international humanitarian law must be respected. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, are not targets,” it stressed.

The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has reportedly displaced over 11 million inside the country.

(ST)