The UN has warned that the collapse of essential services and mass displacement are pushing millions in Darfur and beyond closer to catastrophe.

Sudan has been roiled in a brutal civil war between rival military Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and affiliated militias.

Thousands of civilians have been killed, villages and farmlands destroyed, and nearly 12 million people driven from their homes, with over four million as refugees into neighbouring countries.

The country also risks becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history as infrastructure, trade routes, and supply chains lie in ruins.

Humanitarians warn that essential services are breaking down, with water trucking to the only functioning hospital suspended over the weekend and community kitchens shut down after running out of food.

Without urgent support, humanitarians warn that the most vulnerable people could face severe hunger within days.

Meanwhile, Sudan is grappling with natural disasters on top of conflict.

A landslide triggered by heavy rains on August 31 in parts of the country killed an estimated 400 people, half of them children, according to reports.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stressed that civilians remain at the epicentre of the violence.

“We once again call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access, and increased international support to sustain life-saving operations across Sudan,” it said.

On the political front, the secretary-general’s personal envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, is currently in Port Sudan after concluding consultations in Nairobi.

Spokesperson for the secretary-general, Stéphane Dujarric, said Lamamra has held “very constructive engagements” with Sudanese stakeholders across the spectrum, as well as key international interlocutors.

“These discussions will help lay the groundwork necessary to support an inclusive process that can deliver a sustainable solution that preserves Sudan’s sovereignty, its unity and its territorial integrity,” Mr Dujarric said.

He added that the UN also looks forward to working closely with regional partners to restart efforts toward an intra-Sudanese dialogue. The regional partners include the African Union, the East African regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the League of Arab States.

(NAN)