No fewer than 2.6 million people have been displaced since the start of the conflict on April 15 in Sudan, according to the UN, citing the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

It stated that nearly 200,000 people were displaced by fighting inside Sudan over the past week.

According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), more than 730,000 people have fled Sudan since the start of the war.

On Tuesday, UN deputy secretary general Amina Mohammed and the head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain, visited a camp in eastern Chad that has taken in Sudanese refugees.

Ms Mohammed said she was inspired by the courage of those who had fled there, many of whom were women and children, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York.

“The UN deputy chief said that she also heard stories of unimaginable suffering in Sudan and enormous needs in Chad. More international support is needed for refugees and their host communities,” she said.

Back in Sudan, humanitarians continue to provide relief to civilians.

In North Darfur, the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) and partners are supporting water trucking to gathering sites for internally displaced people and healthcare facilities. They have also constructed more than two dozen latrines.

Mr Dujarric said WHO was working closely with Sudan’s Ministry of Health and other partners in states sheltering internally displaced people to provide essential reproductive, sexual, maternal and pediatric care.

On Monday, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners managed to deliver life-saving supplies, including 3,000 reproductive health kits, to six hospitals in Khartoum.

He said UNFPA was committed to reaching all women and girls in need in Sudan with urgent health and protection services. 

(NAN)