Humanitarian Catastrophe in Tawila, North Darfur: UN Briefing

Humanitarian Crisis in Tawila

• 🌍 Tawila, North Darfur, is described as an epicenter of a humanitarian catastrophe, with approximately 600,000 internally displaced persons, many fleeing from Alfasir and Zam Zam.
• ⚠️ Accessing Tawila was extremely difficult, requiring five days, travel through three countries, multiple flights, and days of driving due to front lines within Sudan.

Pressing Needs and Obstacles

• 🛑 The most urgent need is to stop the violence and war to allow humanitarian access to affected populations.
• 📈 Supply routes are obstructed, food prices are skyrocketing, and humanitarian space is severely limited, preventing the delivery of essential supplies and services.
• ⚠️ Sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery, is being used as a weapon of war, with survivors sharing harrowing experiences.
• 📉 Malnutrition is severe due to disrupted supply chains, poor road conditions, and limited availability of food and clean water, leading to epidemics of cholera and dengue fever.

Scale of the Crisis and Resource Gaps

• 🗺️ Sudan is a massive country, and the number of people in need exceeds 30 million, with active front lines and besieged areas.
• 💰 Despite being the highest-funded humanitarian response plan, it is only funded at 25%, leading to a significant gap between acute needs and the limited response capacity.
• 🚧 Key access roads are mined, and unexploded ordinances pose a significant threat, further hindering humanitarian efforts.

Challenges in Reaching Alfasir

• 🚀 The UN is engaged at all levels to achieve a ceasefire, but safe passage guarantees are required to send ready convoys and personnel to Alfasir.
• 💔 Over 120 humanitarian aid workers have been killed since the start of the war, highlighting the extreme risks involved.
• 📢 Local actors in Alfasir are providing insufficient basic assistance, underscoring the critical need for convoys to enter the area.

Cooperation and Ongoing Concerns

• ✅ Cooperation with authorities in Port Sudan is facilitating some movement, with staff arriving and the Adri crossing functioning well for aid trucks.
• ⚠️ Concerns about Alfasir are based on past events, such as the documented killing of over 100 civilians in Zam Zam in April, emphasizing the need for respect for international humanitarian law.
• 🤝 Direct documentation from people fleeing Alfasir and Zam Zam includes patterns of rape, torture, and extortion, with no guarantee of safe passage for civilians.
• 🇸🇩 The UN is meeting only Sudanese individuals, with no comment on foreign presence or intervention.