EU Voices Concern Over Escalating Attacks on Civilians, Relief Operations in Sudan
The European Union expressed deep concern Monday over continued deadly attacks targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure and humanitarian relief operations in Sudan, as fighting intensifies across the Kordofan and Darfur regions, reaffirming its solidarity with the Sudanese people and the local and international humanitarian organizations working under “extremely difficult” conditions to deliver aid.
In a statement, the EU said that “the current escalation, targeting displaced persons, health facilities, food convoys and areas near humanitarian premises, has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties and severely disrupted humanitarian access and supply lines.” The bloc added that recent weeks have seen drone and missile strikes hit World Food Programme trucks and warehouses, as well as health facilities, killing and wounding civilians and humanitarian workers and destroying essential supplies and infrastructure, actions the EU warned constitute violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.
The EU described Darfur and Kordofan as the “epicenter of the world’s largest humanitarian and protection crisis,” where violence is rampant, famine has been confirmed and acute hunger continues to spread.
Up to 100,000 people have been displaced in Kordofan alone in recent months, it said.
The statement also conveyed a warning from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, that violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied armed groups in and around El Fasher last October “could be repeated in the Kordofan region,” renewing his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The EU stressed that all parties must comply with international humanitarian law, including by allowing rapid and unimpeded access to food, medicine and other essential supplies for civilians in need, guaranteeing the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers at all times, particularly women and girls at risk of physical violence, and ensuring safe passage for those fleeing the conflict.
