UN: 19 aid workers killed in Sudan, 70% of hospitals dysfunctional
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Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan explained that the conflict "crippled" Sudan's health sector and called the current state of affairs "unacceptable" and "unlawful."
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People board a truck as they leave Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, June 19, 2023 (AP Photo)
According to Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, nearly 70% of all hospitals in Sudan are not functional.
The representative announced that 19 humanitarian aid workers had been killed and another 29 were wounded since the outbreak of fighting in April.
During a briefing, Nkweta-Salami explained that the conflict "crippled" Sudan's health sector and called the current state of affairs "unacceptable" and "unlawful."
She added that half of the population, or 24.7 million people, are in need of humanitarian relief and protection, as violence, displacement, and disease outbreaks "threaten to consume the entire country."
"We also need to see an end to interference from the conflict parties in our operations, including forced checks of humanitarian trucks and mandatory military presence during the loading process in Port Sudan and Jazeera," the deputy special representative said.
Last month, the UN issued a warning expressing grave concern about the deteriorating health conditions for children in Sudan due to the ongoing crisis. Since May, more than 1,200 children have tragically lost their lives in refugee camps, and it is feared that thousands of newborns may also die in the war-ravaged country by the end of the year.
"On the back of a cruel disregard for civilians and the relentless attacks on health and nutrition services, UNICEF fears many thousands of newborns will die between now and the end of the year," UN Children's Agency Spokesperson James Elder told journalists in Geneva.
He highlighted that approximately 333,000 babies are expected to be born in Sudan between October and December. Simultaneously, he noted that the provision of nutrition services in the conflict-affected nation has been severely impacted or severely undermined.
Read next: One child killed or injured every hour in Sudan: UN
Sudan's warring leaders secretly arrive to Saudi Arabia: Reports
The head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and chief of Sudan's Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the leader of the Rapid Support Forces RSF, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), secretly arrived in Saudi Arabia in late September, signaling that a new round of negotiations is set to begin, Al Arab newspaper reported citing Sudanese sources.
This visit signifies a new attempt by Riyadh to facilitate a truce between the warring parties. Hence, the negotiations are expected to include a ceasefire agreement and a political roadmap between the two parties.
The renewed efforts followed a series of failed truce deals mediated by Saudi Arabia and the US. Previous talks held in Jeddah resulted in a shortly-lived ceasefire between the two parties, that quickly collapsed due to mutual shelling and accusations of violations.
