Khartoum, November 17 (QNA) - UN humanitarian agencies have warned of a rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan and escalating humanitarian needs as population movements increase in an increasingly dangerous environment.
UNHCR's Head of Sub-Office in Port Sudan, Jacqueline Wilma, highlighted the desperation of civilians attempting to flee the region.
She said that a large number of people remain in Al-Fashir, while others are on the move, but are prevented from continuing their journeys due to the danger or the risk of being returned to Al-Fashir.
For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of worsening hunger and a cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 3,500 lives.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that Sudan is experiencing one of the world's worst food crises, with more than 21 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity as of last September.
Lindemeier confirmed that famine is widespread in Al-Fashir and Kadugli, and now threatens 20 other areas in Darfur and Kordofan.
According to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the danger stems not only from food shortages and disease but also from explosives and fighting.
The UN Human Rights Council held a session last Friday to discuss the situation in Al-Fashir, and to consider a request from member states to send a fact-finding mission regarding mass killings that occurred during the city's fall to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Large areas of Sudan are witnessing an escalation in fighting between the army and the RSF, with the conflict spreading from the Darfur region, which the RSF seized control of last month, to neighboring Kordofan. (QNA)