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STORY: UN / SUDAN HUMANITARIAN
TRT: 03:35
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 26 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, aerial view of the United Nations headquarters
26 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“More than 12 million people displaced, including 3.4 million who have fled across Sudan’s borders. More than half of the country – 24.6 million people – experiencing acute hunger. A collapse of health services. Millions of traumatized children cut off from formal education. Relentless patterns of sexual violence. And in several parts of the country, the already catastrophic situation of civilians has actually worsened since our last briefing to this Council, less than one month ago.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“On Monday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the main provider of health and nutrition services in Zamzam, announced that it has been forced to halt its operations in the camp due to the deteriorating security situation. The World Food Programme has also just confirmed the suspension of voucher based food assistance in the camp, due to the security situation and the destruction of the market.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“The United Nations Human Rights Office has verified reports of summary executions of civilians in areas that have changed hands. We remain deeply concerned about the very serious risks faced by local responders and community volunteers, in Khartoum and elsewhere. In the south of the country, we are receiving reports of fighting spreading into new areas in North Kordofan and South Kordofan, posing yet more risks for civilians and further complicating movements of humanitarian personnel and supplies. We have also seen shocking reports of further atrocities in While Nile state, including a wave of attacks earlier this month reported to have killed scores of civilians.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sudan:
“We have committed to the uninterrupted humanitarian access without bureaucratic obstacles, because the war has killed the bureaucracy, and we want the humanitarian system to reach the world persons who need it, and we will support humanitarian action while it respects the principles of humanitarian action. And we have designated airports in several areas for air transport of humanitarian assistance. And there is a significant increase from two to nine crossings. And we have also added the Adre crossing, which was renewed for the second time in a row a few days ago.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sudan:
“Mr. President, there are multiple diplomatic missions in Sudan, and I emphasize here that the government is working to form a civilian and technocratic government to carry out the duties of the government until free and fair elections are held so that the Sudanese people can determine their future and their direction and the nature of the government, they need and desire.”
12. Wide shot, end of the 9869th Security Council meeting
Addressing the Security Council today (Feb 26) on the situation in Sudan, UN senior humanitarian official Edem Wosornu warned that in multiple regions, “the already catastrophic situation of civilians” has worsened since the last Council briefing just weeks ago. Famine is now a reality in several parts of the country, while humanitarian organizations are being forced to suspend operations due to escalating violence.
“On Monday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the main provider of health and nutrition services in Zamzam, announced that it has been forced to halt its operations in the camp due to the deteriorating security situation,” Wosornu reported. “The World Food Programme has also just confirmed the suspension of voucher-based food assistance in the camp, due to the security situation and the destruction of the market.”
“More than 12 million people displaced, including 3.4 million who have fled across Sudan’s borders,” Wosornu told the Council. “More than half of the country – 24.6 million people – experiencing acute hunger. A collapse of health services. Millions of traumatized children cut off from formal education. Relentless patterns of sexual violence.”
Beyond hunger and displacement, civilians face targeted violence, including extrajudicial killings. The UN Human Rights Office has confirmed reports of summary executions in areas that have changed hands, raising alarms about war crimes.
“We remain deeply concerned about the very serious risks faced by local responders and community volunteers, in Khartoum and elsewhere,” Wosornu said. “In the south of the country, we are receiving reports of fighting spreading into new areas in North Kordofan and South Kordofan, posing yet more risks for civilians and further complicating movements of humanitarian personnel and supplies.”
In White Nile state, Wosornu revealed, civilians have suffered horrifying attacks in recent weeks. “We have also seen shocking reports of further atrocities in White Nile state, including a wave of attacks earlier this month reported to have killed scores of civilians.”
Sudanese Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss reaffirmed his government’s commitment to facilitating humanitarian assistance “without bureaucratic obstacles because the war has killed the bureaucracy." He also said, “We have designated airports in several areas for air transport of humanitarian assistance, increased border crossings from two to nine, and recently reopened the Adre crossing for the second time.”
He also addressed Sudan’s political future. “There are multiple diplomatic missions in Sudan, and I emphasize that the government is working to form a civilian and technocratic government,” he stated. “This government will carry out its duties until free and fair elections allow the Sudanese people to determine their future and the type of government they need and desire.”
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