War-torn women ‘alert’ in Port Sudan – Nearly 26 million locals at risk of starvation
His Assistant Secretary General UN humanitarian affairs officer, Tom Fletcher, sounded the alarm yesterday Monday in Port Sudan over the “epidemic of sexual violence» with women as victims in Sudan that the war is raging, speaking of a phenomenon of “unacceptable” scope.
“I am ashamed that we are not able to protect you, I am ashamed of what men like me have done,” the Briton said on his first visit to the Red Sea city.
Port Sudan has become the de facto capital of Sudan since April 2023, when Khartoum became a battleground between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries.
The war has killed tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, turned more than 11 million civilians into internally displaced persons and refugees, and spawned what the UN calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in decades.
Nearly 26 million Sudanese – roughly half the population – are at risk of starvation and both warring parties are accused of using hunger as a weapon.
During his visit, Mr. Fletcher met with the head of the Sudanese armed forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s de facto leader, and discussed the difficult efforts to “increase aid deliveries” across “borders” and “front lines”.
Aid workers and organizations complain of bureaucratic obstacles on the part of the Sudanese junta.
During an event organized at a school in Port Sudan for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Mr. Fletcher said the world must “do better” when it comes to protecting women in Sudan, who are exposed to systematic sexual violence.
Rapes, including gang rapes, are “widespread” in the country’s 18 months of war, a UN report released in late October found, specifically criticizing the DTY.
“The scale of sexual violence we found in Sudan is incredible,” the head of the United Nations verification mission in Sudan, Tanzanian judge Mohamed Chande Othman, said in a statement.
Not even children are protected: women and girls are systematically abducted to be turned into sex slaves, the report pointed out.
Source :Skai
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
