UN raises alarm about new escalation in Sudan Large erotic center planned: Amsterdam’s red-light district could soon move

The United Nations has expressed concern about the increasing fighting in Sudan and the resulting refugee movements. A spokesperson for the refugee organization UNHCR spoke in Geneva on Tuesday about panic among residents of the controversial city of Wad Madani in the east of the country.

Since the latest fighting began last week, more than 300,000 people have fled Wad Madani and the surrounding area, some on foot.

Fighting has been going on for days in the Sudanese state of Al Jazirah, southeast of the capital Khartoum. In particular, the paramilitary militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is trying to take control of Wad Madani. Since the start of the conflict, more than half a million people have fled here, mainly from Khartoum.

The armed forces led by de facto head of state Abdel Fattah al-Burhan have been fighting the paramilitary RSF in Sudan since mid-April. This is a quasi-army that emerged from militias in the Darfur region and is led by former deputy ruler Mohammed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has serious consequences for the civilian population, especially in the capital Khartoum and in the Darfur crisis region. According to the UN, more than seven million people are on the run.

The authorities in Wad Madani have now declared a state of emergency, says a spokesperson for the UN emergency aid organization OCHA. Due to the violence, all humanitarian measures had to be interrupted. Healthcare is also dramatic: in the regions affected by the conflict, 70 percent of hospitals are no longer functioning. While nearly 25 million people in Sudan depend on aid, the UN and its partners can only reach about five million people with aid offers. (saw/sda/dpa)