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Drone strikes on civilian infrastructure in Port Sudan must end: UN expert

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“These ongoing attacks on critical infrastructure are putting lives at risk, worsening the humanitarian crisis, and violating basic human rights,” said Radhouane Nouicer, the designated expert on the human rights situation in Sudan, appointed by UN rights office OHCHR.

Targeted sites include the city’s main electricity substation and fuel and gas storage facilities, leading to widespread power cuts and restricted access to food, water and healthcare. Some strikes have hit densely populated areas, displacing residents.

“It is devastating to see the continued destruction of infrastructure and social services in Sudan,” Mr Nouicer added.

Once a lifeline, now a target

Since civil war erupted in April 2023, Port Sudan has served as a vital entry point for humanitarian aid. The conflict has killed over 18,000 people, displaced 13 million, and left 30.4 million in need of assistance.

That lifeline has come under threat. A drone strike on the Port Sudan airport forced the UN to temporarily suspend aid flights and the movement of humanitarian personnel.

Guterres calls for coordinated action

At the League of Arab States Summit in Iraq over the weekend, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for renewed international engagement to end the violence in Sudan.

“Multilateral efforts are urgently needed to stop the appalling violence, famine and mass displacement,” he said.

The UN chief also met with the African Union and Arab League leadership to discuss ways to ensure unhindered humanitarian access and work towards a “durable, comprehensive ceasefire.”

Escalating attacks

Port Sudan is not alone. Similar strikes have been reported in North River Nile and White Nile states, where power stations have allegedly been targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, which has been battling Government troops during a brutal civil war for control of Sudan.

Mr Nouicer called these attacks a “major escalation” with “alarming implications” for civilian protection.

He urged all parties to stop targeting civilian sites, in line with international law.

“Civilian infrastructure is protected under international law and must never be a target,” he said.

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Port Sudan: No let-up in drone attacks as UN chief urges peace

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The UN chief warned that any further escalation of the conflict could result in massive civilian casualties and worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation across the country.

“The expansion of the conflict into an area that has served as a place of refuge for a large number of displaced people is alarming,” he said in a statement issued by his Spokesperson’s office.

Mr. Guterres’s appeal follows days of drone strikes on key infrastructure in Port Sudan that have opened a new front in the fighting between forces of the military government and heavily armed paramilitaries.

The city is a main entry point for relief supplies, hosting airports and direct access to the Red Sea. It is also a shelter for hundreds of thousands of displaced people and the seat of government after generals lost control of the capital Khartoum to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Aid flights suspended

In response to the drone attacks, flights of the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) to and from Port Sudan have been suspended since 4 May.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) which manages the airline said that operations will resume as soon as conditions allow. For the moment, amid reported gun and weapons fire overnight, the insecurity has impacted the movement of aid workers into Sudan and across the country.

A country in flux

Drone strikes have also been reported elsewhere in Sudan, including the states of Kassala and River Nile. In Kassala, strikes near the airport displaced about 2,900 people and led to the temporary suspension or relocation of some aid activities, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

As of Wednesday evening, River Nile State was still without power following a drone strike on the transformer station in Atbara on 25 April. The outage has contributed to growing fuel and bread shortages and long queues at petrol stations and bakeries.

The situation remains dire across Sudan, the UN chief continued, citing intense attacks on critical infrastructure since January that have hampered people’s access to essential services and left them without food, clean water, healthcare and electricity.

“All parties to the conflict must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law,” Mr. Guterres insisted. “They must not direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects; must take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental civilian casualties; and must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.”

Sudan’s war stems from the breakdown in the transition to civilian rule following the overthrow in April 2019 of Omar al-Bashir, who had been president for 30 years.

Mr. Guterres decried a “lack of political will” by the warring parties to engage in constructive dialogue as they pursued their military goals.

“Dialogue is the only way to achieve the peace that the people of Sudan demand,” the Secretary-General insisted.

A hunger catastrophe

The turmoil caused by relentless heavy fighting across Sudan has reportedly killed more than 18,800 civilians and injured tens of thousands more. UN aid agencies say that the country’s people are in the grip of the largest hunger catastrophe on the planet.

Today, more than half of Sudan’s population – 30.4 million people – need humanitarian assistance, including more than 15 million children. They lack access to food, water, shelter, electricity, education and healthcare, aid veterans have warned repeatedly.

“Across Sudan, 25 million people face acute hunger,” WFP spokesperson Leni Kinzli told UN News. “And people are displaced across the country, nearly 13 million people forced from their homes. We are seeing waves of displacement in North Darfur, where around 450,000 people have fled horrific levels of violence.”

Reaching those in need

Despite the dangers, UN agencies and partners are doing everything they can to reach the most vulnerable uprooted by intensifying attacks on government-controlled El Fasher town and Zamzam displacement camp.

“We’ve distributed assistance food assistance and emergency food packages to 335,000 people who recently fled that violence in and around El Fasher,” Ms. Kinzli explained. “We are also ramping up assistance in Khartoum, aiming to support one million people across the coming month.”

Distributions are ongoing in Jabalia, in the South of Khartoum, which is one of the risk of famine areas, as well as the central Khartoum neighbourhood of Burri, “where we finally reached the centre of the city…just last week”, the WFP officer noted.

To reach 21 million people in desperate need this year the UN needs $4.2 billion which is only seven per cent funded.

And over the next six months, WFP requires around $700 million to ramp up assistance and expand assistance to seven million people per month. 

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Port Sudan: Aid officials call for greater protection as drone attacks continue

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The escalation is occurring as war grinds on between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who appear to be targeting airports in each other’s areas of control.

“Very concerned by ongoing drone strikes on Port Sudan,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher tweeted on Wednesday. 

“International humanitarian law must be respected. Constant care must be taken to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

Suffering will worsen

The latest strikes in Port Sudan took place early on Tuesday morning, reportedly targeting the international airport and other infrastructure, including a fuel storage facility and a power transformer. 

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, issued a statement that day, saying the attacks “will deepen humanitarian suffering and needs, as well as exacerbate the already severe access and logistical challenges that humanitarian actors face in the delivery of urgently needed aid to the rest of the country.” 

She underlined that the airport is a “lifeline for humanitarian operations” as it is the primary entry point for aid personnel, medical supplies and other life-saving relief. 

“Moreover, the availability of fuel in Port Sudan is critical to the dispatch of humanitarian supplies to areas across Sudan in dire need of assistance,” she added.

She stressed that damage to critical infrastructure could also disrupt supply chains and increase the price of basic goods, thus worsening what is already the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Displacement and aid suspension

Drone attacks have also affected Kassala and River Nile states, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA.

Earlier this week, strikes near the airport in Kassala displaced about 2,900 people and led to the temporary suspension or relocation of some aid activities.

Meanwhile, River Nile state is still facing a power blackout following a drone strike on the transformer station in Atbara on 25 April. The outage is contributing to growing fuel and bread shortages and long lines at gas stations and bakeries.

Cease hostilities now

Ms. Nkweta-Salami noted that since January, attacks on infrastructure across Sudan, such as power stations, water sub-stations, and oil refineries, have caused widespread electricity outages and disrupted access to essential services, including safe drinking water, healthcare and food supplies. 

These are serious violations of international humanitarian law and “reflect a consistent failure to comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution,” she said. 

“Every measure must be taken to spare civilians and civilian objects,” she said. “Once again, I call on all those involved in this conflict to cease hostilities.”

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