Families continue to flee intense hostilities across the Kordofan region of Sudan and humanitarian needs are surging, the UN said in an update on Wednesday.
The situation across Sudans Kordofan region is rapidly worsening, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA)warned onMonday.
A solemn farewell ceremony was held on Monday at the headquarters of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to honour six Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in a drone attack on a UN logistics base in Kadugli, South Kordofan.
Since Sunday, more than 1,000 people were newly displacedfromKadugli, capital of South Kordofan state, as well as the towns of Dilling and ElKoaik.
They arereportedly seekingshelter in four other states: North and West Kordofan, Khartoum and White Nile.
Thousands on the move
Fighting across theKordofanshas intensified as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)continue theirbattle for control of the country.
Humanitarians report that people have also been arriving in White Nile from parts ofWestKordofan state that have seen intenseclashesthis month, including the towns ofBabanusaand Heglig.
Some 1,600 people mainly womenand children arrived in the city of Kosti in White Nile state on Tuesday, according to local authorities.
Tough journey to safety
Manyof the arrivalsendured journeys lasting over a week often throughneighbouringSouth Sudan and showedclear signsof trauma, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists in New York.
While our humanitarian partners are providing them with basic shelter, health, water, sanitation, food and protection assistance, needs are outstripping available resources, hesaid.
At the same time, our partners report that more than 3,000 people have crossed from the Kordofan region into Yida in South Sudan in recent days, with further displacement expected.
More arrivalsexpected
Meanwhile, people from theKordofan and Darfur regionsin Sudanarefleeingfarther east inGedarefstate. Around 2,500peoplerecently arrived in the locality of AlFao, authorities reported on Monday, with more expected in the coming days.
Displacement also continues to rise in the town of Ad Dabbah inNorthernstate, where more than 15,000 people from the Kordofan and Darfur regions are alreadyshelteringin AlAfadcamp.
Assistance is being scaled up, but efforts to support food security and livelihoods and provide cash assistance remain critically underfunded, Mr. Haq said.
Millions displaced nationwide
The UN migration agency,IOM, estimates thatmore than9.3 millionpeopleremaininternally displaced across Sudans 18 states, alongside over three million returnees in nine states.More than half are children.
Nearly one third of displaced families and one fifth of returnee households have reported going a full day and night without food in the past month, while access to healthcare and sanitation remains severely limited, Mr. Haq said.
TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) isalsosounding the alarm over reportsthatmore than 70 health workers and some 5,000 civilians have been forcibly detained inNyala, capital of South Darfur state, he added.
Protect civilians, allow aid delivery
As the war grinds on, theUN continues to call for the protection of civiliansand safehumanitarian accessacrossSudan.
This past Saturday,six peacekeepers from Bangladesh were killed in drone attackstargetingaUNlogisticsbase in Kadugli.They were deployedwith the UN force in Abyei, the disputed region on the border with South Sudan.
UN human rights chiefVolker Turknotedthatatleast 104 civilians have been killed in drone attacks across the Kordofan region since 4 December, including in a strike that hit a kindergarten and a hospital.
