UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN relief chief on Friday called the fatal shooting of two International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drivers in Sudan's South Darfur region unconscionable.
Unidentified gunmen killed the two drivers and injured three other ICRC staffers on Thursday.
UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, in a social media post, described the incident as another dark day for the humanitarian community in Sudan. He underscored that humanitarian workers are not a target and said those who risk everything to help others must be protected.
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that for the first time since the Sudan conflict began over a year ago, a UN Refugee Agency team reached the Omdurman section of the capital city of Khartoum on a two-day mission. Members of the team witnessed massive destruction in the city and met with displaced families reporting their struggles to get enough food as prices soared and their lack of adequate shelter, medicines and education for their children.
"Our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warn that each day the conflict in Sudan continues, humanitarian needs increase," he said.
Haq reported that the secretary-general's personal envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, continues talks with the warring parties in Sudan and urges them to de-escalate tensions.
"Lamamra called on the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese authorities to refrain from fighting in El Fasher (capital of North Darfur State) and stressed that an attack on the city would likely have devastating consequences for the civilian population," the deputy spokesman said.
Haq said that since Lamamra participated in the Paris pledging conference last month, he has visited three of Sudan's six neighbors, Chad, Ethiopia and Eritrea, for discussions with the African Union and regional leaders on the way forward. ■
