The U.N.'s humanitarian chief said Friday the conflict in Sudan and the humanitarian crisis it has spawned are threatening to consume the entire country.
In a statement issued Friday, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths said the intense fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that has ravaged the capital city Juba, Khartoum and Darfur since mid-April has spread southeast to Kordofan state.
The top U.N. humanitarian official said that as a result of clashes and road blockages, food stocks have been fully depleted in South Kordofan's capital, Kadugli, and aid workers have been prevented from reaching the hungry. In West Kordofan's capital, El Fula, humanitarian offices have been ransacked and supplies have been looted.
The U.N. aid chief said he also is extremely worried about the safety of civilians in Al Jazira State, as the conflict moves closer to Sudan's breadbasket region.
"The longer the fighting continues, the more devastating its impact," said Griffiths. Some places have already run out of food. Hundreds of thousands of children are severely malnourished and at imminent risk of death if left untreated."
He called on the international community to "respond with the urgency this crisis deserves."
Griffiths' warning comes as Sudan's army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was seen Thursday outside the army command compound in Khartoum for the first time since fighting erupted more than four months ago.
In video and pictures posted to social media, Burhan also can be seen speaking to soldiers in what is said to be the city of Omdurman, across the Nile River from Khartoum, with paramilitaries.
Agence France-Presse reports some of the video appears to have been filmed before dawn. One photo of Burhan has a caption indicating it was taken at the Wadi Seidna Air Base 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) north of Khartoum. None of the posts have been independently verified.
The army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, for control of the capital and several major cities since April 15. All attempts to mediate have failed, and diplomats say both sides are asserting they can win.
Neither side has gained an advantage during the fighting that has inflicted high civilian casualties, and the U.N. says it has displaced more than 4.5 million people.
In the video at the Wadi Seidna Air Base, Burhan greeted cheering soldiers. "The work you are doing should reassure people that the army has men, and that Sudan is being protected by the army," he said.
Burhan's video appearance comes on the heels of the RSF's multiday attack on the Armored Corps base in southern Khartoum, which is the army's single remaining stronghold in the capital outside its headquarters.
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the RSF, has frequently mocked Burhan for what he has called hiding in a bunker, although Dagalo has only been seen in video once since the war began, speaking to soldiers last month outside a house at an unidentified location.
The fighting already has generated a humanitarian crisis that has closed hospitals, and caused electricity and water outages, along with food shortages. Now, the rainy season is underway, threatening to make the situation worse, sparking disease outbreaks and hindering transport.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
