Save the Children International (SCI) has warned that children in need of urgent humanitarian aid in Sudan are at risk following the stealing of its medical supplies in Darfur.
Development Diaries reports that medical supplies for children, refrigerators, laptops, and cars have been stolen as Sudan succumbs to its third day of intense fighting in the capital, Khartoum.
Fighting between the Sudanese army and other armed groups has killed nearly 100 civilians.
Save the Children has been forced to temporarily suspend its operation, putting food, clean water, and other life-saving aid out of reach for thousands in a country where 15.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
‘For the past three days, people across Sudan have been gripped by fear, not knowing if it is safe to leave their homes, and are now having to make the choice between facing that fear and starving to death’, SCI’s Country Director in Sudan, Arshad Malik, said in a statement.
‘This is a country in which a third of the population already needs humanitarian aid, and a quarter are living with acute hunger’.
It is understood that children and communities sheltering from the violence have now gone for three days without food or clean water and the theft of medical aid will further deprive children of vital supplies.
‘About half a million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition. It is absolutely critical for the survival of children and families that we see an end to this fighting so that life-saving aid can be delivered’, Malik added.
‘The safety and well-being of everyone in Sudan, especially the most vulnerable children, is our priority and a strong, well-equipped humanitarian assistance operation and safe access for humanitarian workers is critical’.
Save the Children has urged the international community to follow legal obligations to take all necessary precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects, including schools and hospitals.
Source: Save the Children
Photo source: EUCPHA
