UNICEF Calls on Warring Parties to De-Escalate Situation in El Fasher

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UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell urged the warring parties in Sudan regarding the situation in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, to "make every possible effort to de-escalate the situation and allow for the safe movement of civilians, including patients and the wounded, who wish to relocate to safer areas, and ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure."

In a statement on Friday, she said, "Conflict parties must also ensure the swift, sustainable, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance - whether across conflict lines within Sudan or across borders with neighboring countries."

She added, "Children in Sudan continue to suffer unreasonable violence, while their parents and grandparents still bear the scars of past cycles of violence. We cannot allow this to continue."

"The escalation of fighting in North Darfur State in Sudan has led to deadly human losses among children in recent weeks. But the threat of an imminent military attack on El Fasher, the city hosting at least 500,000 people displaced due to violence in other parts of the country, threatens to escalate into a catastrophic situation, endangering the lives and well-being of 750,000 children in El Fasher, and perhaps millions of others. We urge the conflict parties to urgently step back from such a dangerous confrontation."