Severe acute food insecurity has increased massively since the start of the war in Sudan, leaving more than half of the country hungry. The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster (FSLC) said in an advocacy note released on Monday that urgent action, resources and funding are needed to prevent further deterioration and escalation of needs.
More than a dozen children in Gaza have starved to death and many more are at risk as malnutrition soars, infectious diseases spread and urgently needed life-saving humanitarian aid is blocked by Israeli authorities from entering the Palestinian enclave, UN aid agencies warn. The development is fueling widespread fears of famine in the northern Gaza Strip, as roads are the only way to transport the large quantities of food needed to stave off death.
While negotiations for a comprehensive cease-fire and hostage deal in the Gaza Strip are reportedly underway between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, a US-led proposal has not been officially accepted by either side. At the same time, the carnage and humanitarian catastrophe on the ground continues as the war entered its ninth month, with people dying across Gaza from Israeli attacks, starvation, or lack of basic resources.
The United Nations peacekeeping chief said Friday that the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group is advancing on the South Kivu provincial capital of Bukavu, after seizing control of Goma in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, DR Congo) earlier this week. Meanwhile, UN agencies warn that the situation continues to deteriorate for civilians trapped by days of intense fighting in and around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Analysts warn that rivalries among Tigrayan political leaders in northern Ethiopia threaten to derail the process of reintegrating the Tigray region into Ethiopia's federal structure, and could rapidly escalate into a wider conflict involving Eritrea. More than two years after a ceasefire ended the war between Ethiopian government forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), in which an estimated 600,000 people died, Tigray remains highly fragile.
As world leaders gather in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly and the threat of a wider regional escalation looms, the world's humanitarian leaders are demanding an end to the appalling human suffering and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. "These atrocities must end," they said in a statement signed Monday by the heads of UN agencies and representatives of the world's non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
UN human rights chief Volker Türk has warned that intensified fighting in Myanmar's Rakhine State between the military and the non-state armed group Arakan Army (AA), as well as tensions between the Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine communities, pose a grave threat to civilians. In a statement on Friday, Türk warned of the grave risk of a repeat of past atrocities, such as the horrific state-backed persecution of the Rohingya in 2017.
The United Nations Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that the M23 armed rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from territories it has seized. The Council also threatened sanctions against those who prolong the conflict, which has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) says it is deeply concerned by the current political tensions and deteriorating security situation in the country, including the aerial bombardment of the town of Nasir in Upper Nile State, resulting in civilian casualties. Nicholas Haysom, the head of UNMISS, has warned that the country is on the brink of a return to civil war.
The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports Thursday that up to 300,000 people have fled Al-Jazirah state following the clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) around Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazirah State. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), half of them are children. Around 7 million people have been already displaced inside and outside Sudan since fighting broke out between the warring parties on April 15, 2023.
Amid rising regional tensions and a worsening humanitarian situation, all actors must put the interests of the Yemeni people first in order to restore peace and stability in the country, Hans Grundberg, the UN envoy for Yemen, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. Grundberg warned that as the military escalation in the Middle East intensifies, Yemen risks being dragged further into it.
In Ethiopia, hostilities continue in the northern part of the country, with reports of new displacement of civilians and increased humanitarian needs, the United Nations (UN) said today in a briefing. While the situation in the northern regions of Afar, Tigray and Amhara remains tense, the UN and its partner organizations continue to provide humanitarian aid to the affected people where security allows.
According to the United Nations, devastating Russian missile and drone strikes have killed and injured hundreds of Ukrainian civilians this month, continuing a pattern of relentless attacks far from the front lines. This comes after June saw the highest monthly number of civilian deaths and injuries in three years, with over 230 people killed and more than 1,340 injured.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday issued new provisional measures for Israel as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in bombarded and besieged Gaza continues to deteriorate, and famine is immanent. The legally binding order compels Israel to take "all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay" to send in "urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance", including food, water, shelter, fuel and medical supplies.
The United Nations is deeply worried about the impact of the fighting on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. After ten days of clashes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says there are acute shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel, and limited access to communications and electricity while the prices of essential items are skyrocketing. Meanwhile, thousands of Sudanese are fleeing the violence to South Sudan, Chad and Egypt as foreigners are evacuated to their home countries.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the air strike in the Sudanese city of Omdurman on Saturday, which reportedly killed at least 22 people, and left dozens injured. Guterres “remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilizing the entire region”, according to his spokesman.
As Yemen marks ten years of war, humanitarian organizations including the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warn that a widening gap between humanitarian needs and the funding needed to meet them risks leaving millions of Yemenis without access to food, health care and protection. After a decade of crisis, humanitarian needs in Yemen continue to rise, particularly among children.
The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) has called Wednesday on the international community to step-up funding efforts, and to not abandon millions of civilians who bear the brunt of the nine months conflict in Sudan. With nearly 25 million people requiring relief aid, a coordinated and continued humanitarian response is urgently needed to address the mounting needs of the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has expressed grave concern for the safety of civilians and internally displaced people (IDPs) in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) as fighting between the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group and the Congolese army further intensifies in South and North Kivu provinces, with the armed group advancing on the North Kivu capital of Goma.
A renewed escalation of the conflict in northern Syria could worsen the suffering of millions of people struggling to cope with a dire humanitarian situation in the country's twelve-year crisis, the Syria International NGO Regional Forum (SIRF) warned in a statement Thursday. The international group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to the Syria crisis is calling on all warring parties to refrain from further escalation and protect civilians.
