Sudan tops global humanitarian watchlist for second year
Sudan has topped a global humanitarian watchlist for the second year in a row in “crushing” report, with the crisis being the largest since records began, according to Reuters.
On December 11th, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organisation released its annual report, citing the countries with the worst humanitarian situations, with Sudan in the top spot followed by Gaza, West Bank and Myanmar.
According to the report, the crisis in Sudan accounts for 10 percent of all people in humanitarian need globally, despite only 1 percent of the world’s population residing there.
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IRC Chief Executive David Miliband said: “There are more resources to do more good for more people than at any time in history. This makes it all the more bewildering that the gap between humanitarian need and humanitarian funding is also greater than ever.”
The new York-based NGO said over 305 million people are in need of aid globally, around 78 million people – 25% percent – more than in 2015.
The report comes after 100 people were killed in a “horrendous massacre” in the North Darfur region of Sudan, according to Maghrebi.org.
Carried out by airstrikes, the Sudanese military were implicated by denied any responsibility, claiming that these were “lies” spread by pro-rebel sources, adding it would continue to “exercise its legitimate right to defend the country”.
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The Emergency Lawyers Group said: “The airstrike took place on the town’s weekly market day, where residents from various nearby villages had gathered to shop, resulting in the death of more than 100 people and injury of hundreds, including women and children.”
Around the size of France, Darfur is home to about a quarter of Sudan’s population but more than half of its 10 million inhabitants have been displaced.
Almost 26 million people, about half the population, face the threat of starvation across the country, with both sides accused of using hunger as a weapon of war.
Reuters & Maghrebi.org
