United Nations, Feb 7 (IANS): Recent fighting has thrust two states of Sudan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, onto the brink of catastrophe, a UN spokesman has said.
"The civilian death toll following recent shelling in South Kordofan's capital Kadugli had increased to 80, with some three dozen others injured," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a daily briefing on Thursday.
According to Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN resident humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, violence continues to escalate at an alarming rate, said the spokesman.
In a statement, Nkweta-Salami condemned the reported use of women and children as human shields in Kadugli, as well as the obstruction of humanitarian aid and the detention of civilians, including children.
The western Nuba Mountains, which extend into South Kordofan and West Kordofan states, are among the areas in which famine has been identified by the Famine Review Committee of the International Food Security Phase Classification system, or IPC.
Nkweta-Salami said that humanitarian needs also remain critical in Blue Nile State, amid reports of mass mobilization for conflict.
She called on all sides to the conflict in Sudan to de-escalate tensions, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and allow humanitarian organisations safe and unrestricted access to those in desperate need.
Recently, the most intense clashes reported outside the capital area of Khartoum have been shifting from Northern Darfur State's southern El Fasher region to southwestern South Kordofan, Xinhua news agency reported.
On February 5, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) stated that it had made significant gains in the capital, Khartoum, following heavy fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
"Our forces made significant progress in Khartoum, securing the entire area of Al-Rumaila, a medical depot, an industrial area, and the state's currency mint," SAF's spokesman Nabil Abdallah said in a statement.
Sudan has been gripped by a devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force militia since mid-April 2023.