The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Two weeks since fighting erupted between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), United Nation humanitarian aid agencies warned on Friday that the ongoing conflict is having a devastating impact on the civilian population, including refugees and internally displaced people across the country. Heavy fighting and insecurity have driven tens of thousands to flee in search of safety.
“The biggest challenge we will have is Darfur,” said Axel Bisschop, UNHCR Representative in Sudan. “Darfur has already faced the wrath of intercommunal conflict and displacement. Now with this added on crisis, the humanitarian situation will be very, very difficult.” Mr Bisschop added that “we also are concerned that the impact of communal violence is going to increase and that we might have some situations which will repeat in relation to what we had a couple of years ago”.
The UN refugee agency said that is extremely disturbing that desperately needed assistance - especially for newly displaced and vulnerable people like women and children - cannot be provided and that innocent civilians will continue to suffer.
“We are also very, very worried about the continued movement both internal displacement but also of refugees that now leave places like Khartoum but also Darfur to seek safety in other areas, and we have already seen that some of the camps especially in the White Nile have received new refugees,” said the UNHCR’s Sudan Representative.
UN agencies are temporarily relocating their staff to safer regions inside and outside Sudan. A leadership team has set up a hub in Port Sudan where staff will continue to monitor the situation while preparing to resume the humanitarian operations, when possible.
“We have all been forced to pause some of the programmes especially in Darfur, in Khartoum and also in the Kordofans, but we are still operating in the White Nile, Blue Nile, East Sudan, Gedaref and Kassala,” said Mr Bisschop. “This is where the main majority of the population of UNHCR’s concern is for the refugees.”
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and other humanitarian actors have called on all parties to the conflict to take immediate steps to stop the fighting, restore calm and enable humanitarians to safety carry out their mandate.
“As the fighting rages on in parts of Sudan, our humanitarian operations in the country are actually impossible at a time when a third of the country is in desperate need of assistance,” said Brenda Kariuki, WFP’s Regional Communications Officer for East Africa. “We are hearing of acute shortages of food, water, fuel, medicines and access to healthcare.”
Because of the current crisis, millions more will need humanitarian assistance, WFP has warned. While a ceasefire meant a relative reprieve in the fighting, clashes continue to be reported in densely populated areas of Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman and towns in Darfur and North Kordofan.
“WFP staff offices and vehicles and equipment and food stocks have come in the direct line of fire, and looting of our warehouses continues,” said Ms. Kariuki. “To date, we know up to 4,000 metric tonnes of food meant for vulnerable people has been looted from our warehouses, and at least ten vehicles and six trucks which transport food have been stolen”. She added that “this is unacceptable, and it is takes away much needed humanitarian aid meant for the most vulnerable Sudanese and refugees who desperately need this lifesaving assistance.”
With WFP’s air operations grounded, the entire humanitarian community’s movement is severely disrupted.
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday that it is deeply alarming that inmates in Sudan have been released from, or escaped from, a number of prisons.
OHCHR’s spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that “when you see continued impunity for serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, it emboldens the perpetrators, and we are very concerned that prison releases or escapes have also led to potential war criminals having been released. This is of deep concern.”
According to OHCHR, the hostilities between the RSF and SAF have triggered intercommunal violence.
“This goes back also to perceived and real ethnic affiliations of the RSF and the SAF, the Sudanese Armed Forces,” Ms. Shamdasani said. “There have been sporadic clashes between Arab and Masalit communities. What we have seen since 24 April is that clashes between the communities are continuing, and we have estimates that some 96 people have already been killed.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also reported about 25 verified attacks on health facilities. Since 15 April, eight health care workers have been killed and 18 others injured following these attacks.
-ends-
STORY: Sudan Update: UNHCR - WFP - OHCHR
TRT: 03’49”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RELEASE DATE: 28 April 2023
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Wide shot of podium, conference room, Palais des Nations, Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Axel Bisschop, UNHCR Representative in Sudan: “The biggest challenge we will have is Darfur. Darfur has already faced the wrath of intercommunal conflict and displacement. Now with this added on crisis, the humanitarian situation will be very, very difficult. We also are concerned that the impact of communal violence is going to increase and that we might have some situations which will repeat in relation to what we had a couple of years ago.”
- Close up: journalists typing
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Axel Bisschop, UNHCR Representative in Sudan: “We are also very, very worried about the continued movement both internal displacement but also of refugees that now leave places like Khartoum but also Darfur to seek safety in other areas, and we have already seen that some of the camps especially in the White Nile have received new refugees.”
- Medium shot: journalists typing with monitor in the background
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Axel Bisschop, UNHCR Representative in Sudan: “We have all been forced to pause some of the programmes especially in Darfur, in Khartoum and also in the Kordofans, but we are still operating in the White Nile, Blue Nile, East Sudan, Gedaref and Kassala. This is where the main majority of the population of UNHCR’s concern is for the refugees.”
- Medium shot: journalist with speaker and moderator visible on the screen in the background.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Brenda Kariuki, UN Food Programme (WFP)’s Regional Communications Officer for East Africa: “As the fighting rages on in parts of Sudan, our humanitarian operations in the country are actually impossible at a time when a third of the country is in desperate need of assistance. We are hearing of acute shortages of food, water, fuel, medicines and access to healthcare.”
- Medium shot: cameraperson
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Brenda Kariuki, UN Food Programme (WFP)’s Regional Communications Officer for East Africa: “WFP staff offices and vehicles and equipment and food stocks have come in the direct line of fire, and looting of our warehouses continues. To date, we know up to 4,000 metric tonnes of food meant for vulnerable people has been looted from our warehouses, and at least ten vehicles and six trucks which transport food have been stolen. This is unacceptable and it is takes away much needed humanitarian aid meant for the most vulnerable Sudanese and refugees who desperately need this lifesaving assistance.”
- Wide shot: journalists with laptops, with speakers at podium in the background
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): “When you see continued impunity for serious violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law, it emboldens the perpetrators, and we are very concerned that prison releases or escapes have also led to potential war criminals having been released. This is of deep concern.”
- Medium shot: technician on laptop, conference room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): “This goes back also to perceived and real ethnic affiliations of the RSF and the SAF, the Sudanese Armed Forces. There have been sporadic clashes between Arab and Masalit communities. What we have seen since the 24th of April is that clashes between the communities are continuing, and we have estimates that some 96 people have already been killed.”
- Wide shot: speaker, podium
- Medium shot: journalist typing
- Cameraperson
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.