UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 22 — UN humanitarians on Monday reported a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, while the United Nations and its partners battle a cholera outbreak across western Darfur.
“Deadly attacks and fresh displacement compound the suffering of civilians,” said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “The violence continues to have a devastating impact on humanitarian response efforts.”
The International Organization for Migration said that about 7,500 people on Thursday and Friday fled the Abu Shouk displacement camp on the outskirts of El Fasher and parts of the town itself amid heightened insecurity.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher warned over the weekend that El Fasher is on the brink, with civilians living in famine conditions.
He called for an end to the fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, stressing the need to protect civilians and to allow aid in.
Despite insecurity, a UN- and partners-backed cholera vaccination campaign was launched across western Darfur.
The campaign seeks to vaccinate 1.9 million people. OCHA said there were more than 5,200 suspected cholera cases in South Darfur state and more than 250 deaths were reported since May. (Xinhua)
