Sudan's warring factions urged to prevent 'unacceptable' deaths of aid workers

Joint statement issued by the UAE, US and the UN highlights 'immense risks' faced by relief teams

Workers offload aid supplies from the World Health Organisation and the UAE from a plane in Port Sudan on May 5, last year. AFP

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and the US have led calls for civilians and aid workers to be protected as a “horrifying war” in Sudan rages on.

The countries issued a joint statement – along with the UN, the African Union, Egypt and Switzerland – condemning the “unacceptable” loss of life suffered during a conflict which began in April last year.

On World Humanitarian Day, they paid tribute to the sacrifices of relief teams seeking to deliver essential food and medicine to millions who are “starving and facing acute hunger” in the African country.

“We started today with a moment of silence in recognition of World Humanitarian Day,” the joint statement said.

“We aspire to honour the commitment of humanitarian workers who have fallen in the line of work through our continued efforts together in Switzerland to reopen all major arteries for food and medicine to reach the millions of people starving and facing acute hunger inside Sudan.

“Since April 2023, at least 22 aid workers have been killed while on duty in Sudan, and at least 34 have been wounded or injured. This is unacceptable.”

Malnourished Sudanese children are carried by a donkey through a camp in North Kordofan state for people displaced by the war raging across the country. All photos: AFP

The conflict has displaced more than 10 million people within Sudan, the International Organisation for Migration says.

The UN estimates that five million Sudanese are suffering from extreme hunger, with countries hosting refugees from the war also facing a lack of food.

The US has warned hunger in Sudan could reach levels last seen in Ethiopia in the 1980s, when famine killed 1.2 million.

People wait to receive food cards a camp for internally displaced people in North Kordofan. Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since April last year.

The UN refugee agency has called for humanitarian access to Sudan to be increased, as the threat of famine looms.

The UN has warned Sudan faces the world's worst displacement crisis, with little progress in efforts to secure a ceasefire.

People queue to register for a potential food aid delivery in North Kordofan. Doctors Without Borders says there are 'extreme levels of suffering' across Sudan.

Huts to provide shelter for displaced people in Rabang. The war has killed tens of thousands in Sudan.

More than 7.2 million have fled their homes since the war broke out between the military and the RSF, International Organisation for Migration says.

The US recently pledged $315 million in aid to Sudan and warned the country faces a historic famine.

A woman braids her sister's hair in the Rabang displacement camp.

The US is among the countries to push to restart ceasefire talks.

A child is fed at the malnutrition ward of a hospital in the Nuba Mountains. Sudan is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis in decades, Doctors Without Borders has warned.

Global agencies have warned millions are on the brink of starvation in Sudan.

Girls collect water from a hill after heavy rain near the Rabang displacement camp.

The family of a bride celebrate in the Nuba Mountains as they prepare to deliver a dowry of porridge and a fermented beverage known as merisa.

Sudan's worsening hunger crisis has also affected livestock.

People take the body of a large snake to the Rabang camp. International agencies have issued dire warnings about the threat of famine in Sudan.

Men ride a camel in South Kordofan state. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says more food and aid is needed to help people 'that otherwise risk starvation'.

The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has resulted in widespread destruction, the displacement of more than eight million people, food shortages and the spread of disease.

The death toll was estimated by the independent Sudan Doctors’ Union in June to have exceeded 40,000.

Crucial peace talks got under way in Geneva last week as efforts continued to end the 16 months of fighting.

The SAF has since agreed to reopen the Adre border crossing with Chad for three months, allowing the passage of vital humanitarian assistance to hunger-stricken areas.

However, the SAF has rejected the Geneva talks, insisting on a return to the Jeddah Declaration signed with the RSF in May last year.

The Geneva talks are being co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with the UAE, African Union, Egypt and the UN forming a steering committee.

The joint statement called on the warring factions to uphold their legal obligations.

“We stand in solidarity with all Sudanese and international humanitarian workers in Sudan who have been working tirelessly each day to serve people in need across the country, often facing immense risks to do so.

“We urgently call on the parties to this horrifying war to protect civilians and aid workers and to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, which they have reaffirmed in the Jeddah Declaration. We, here gathered, are committed to 'Act For Humanity' and call on the parties to this conflict to do the same.”