Sudanese refugees fleeing the war in West Darfur receive assistance in Chad (Reuters)
The United Nations announced - yesterday, Wednesday - that the two parties to the conflict in Sudan have agreed to hold a meeting, likely to be in Switzerland, to discuss the issue of delivering humanitarian aid.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said that he had contacted the Sudanese army commander and head of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his opponent, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), about holding a meeting between representatives of the two warring parties in Sudan to discuss the delivery of aid.
Griffiths confirmed - in statements he made during a press conference - that both parties agreed to the matter, and expressed their happiness with the step.
Since April 15, fighting has been taking place in Sudan between the army forces led by Al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Hemedti, which has so far resulted in thousands of deaths, about 10,000 of whom fell in Darfur, according to a report by United Nations experts.
The United Nations launched an appeal to donor countries to donate to relief Sudanese civilians who are suffering under the burden of war, and called on the international community not to forget Sudan.
The organization said that there is an urgent need to raise $4.1 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of those affected by the war, including displaced people who fled to neighboring countries.
The United Nations estimates that half of Sudan's population - about 25 million people - need humanitarian aid and protection. Its estimates also indicate that more than 1.5 million have fled the country as a result of the war to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Source: French