JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday that recent drone strikes damaged schools, a site housing internally displaced people and fuel and tanker stations amid a large buildup of Rapid Support Forces militia and allied forces in the North Kordofan capital.
Several Member States warned that the increasing number of deadly airstrikes had destroyed basic services, causing severe fuel and water shortages.
“Siege-like conditions” also left thousands of people trapped in the town of El Obeid cut off from basic services, according to officials from Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Britain.
Concerns are rising that the town may suffer a fate like El Fasher in West Darfur earlier this year, where the RSF was accused of serious human rights violations – including in a new report from the NGO Amnesty International on Wednesday.
Following requests from the five Member States, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) will hold an urgent debate on Friday to discuss the international response to the human rights situation in Sudan.
Ongoing violations
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed his concern on June 18 about the RSF’s rapid build-up near El Obeid, and warned that “the risk of summary executions, kidnappings, arbitrary detentions and other violence against civilians is extremely high, and must be prevented.”
Sudan has been ravaged by war since 2023, when fighting erupted between previously allied Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
The war has displaced more than 14 million people and left millions more on the brink of famine, with humanitarian access severely limited in most countries.
Conflict disrupts the response to cholera
Sudan is also facing simultaneous outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue fever. The country currently has 1,102 cholera cases and 120 deaths since the outbreak began on Monday. said Dr. Shible SahbaniWorld Health Organization (WHO) Representative and Head of Mission in Sudan.
But the ongoing conflict has left 40 percent of health facilities in Sudan non-functional and the remaining 60 percent only partially functional, said Dr. Sahbani at a press conference on Wednesday.
In response, Dr. Sahbani said the UN and its partners were quickly mobilizing to provide critical support on the ground. Humanitarian partners have provided cholera equipment to treat at least 3,000 patients, supported cholera treatment facilities and initiated prevention campaigns targeting more than 200,000 people.
The UN launches a program to prevent climate change
The European Union (EU) and the UN-affiliated International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched a new regional program to help southern African countries better anticipate, prevent and respond to climate change.
Displacement due to climate change continues to increase in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is frequently hit by hurricanes, floods and drought. In 2025, disasters are associated with 2.9 million internal displacements, according to the IOM.
“People in South Africa are already living with the impacts of climate change,” said Fatma Said, IOM Head of Mission in Malawi.
Funded by the EU and implemented by IOM in partnership with others, the Regional Response to Climate Displacement in Sub-Saharan Africa (RE2CLID) Program aims to strengthen preparedness, improve data and forecasting, and support solutions that reduce the risk of displacement.
Government partnership
Officially launched on June 15 in Malawi, the program will support governments and local authorities to better understand displacement risks and integrate them into climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and development planning, IOM wrote in a press release on Wednesday.
In addition to national authorities, IOM will also engage with regional organisations, local authorities, ministries, government departments, district councils, traditional leaders and civil society partners to drive a coordinated and locally based response.
“The RE2CLID program provides an important opportunity to better understand the risks of displacement and strengthen our capacity to prevent, prepare and respond to them,” said Patricia Wiskes, Malawi’s natural resources minister.
More than 40 civilians have died in Ukraine
Between June 26 and Wednesday morning, hostilities and attacks killed more than 40 civilians and injured more than 460 others in UkraineUN aid coordination office (Ocha) confirmed.
Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions were among the hardest hit over the past few days as attacks across the country continued to kill and injure civilians, damage critical civilian infrastructure, and disrupt essential services.
Two civilians were killed and eight others injured in a drone attack on a public bus in the city of Kherson on Wednesday. Similar attacks also occurred in the Zaporizhzhia region in recent days.
The humanitarian emergency continues
In the Sumy region, attacks on fuel stations have raised concerns about the availability of fuel for emergency services, humanitarian operations and civil transport. A social services center was destroyed, and Wednesday’s attack caused civilian casualties.
The attacks left six frontline regions without electricity, Ukraine’s Energy Minister said.
UN-backed humanitarian organizations have provided first aid and psychological support as well as distributed emergency shelter materials, water and snacks to Ukrainian civilians.
