People forced to leave El Fasher are in dire need of help. Sudan: Mass exodus from El Fasher and ‘horrifying’ suffering Humanitarian assistance
About 90 thousand people were forced to flee their homes after the fall of El Fasher in North Darfur in Sudan, and another 50 thousand fled violence in Kordofan. The head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amy Pope, told reporters about this on Wednesday.
“People who fled their homes in El Fasher report widespread violence, sexual abuse, shootings of civilians,” said the IOM Director-General, speaking at a briefing at UN headquarters.
Women and children walked for days, without food or water, along roads strewn with corpses, sometimes having to hide from drones. These families are now in dire need of support, Pope said, and cuts in humanitarian aid around the world are jeopardizing efforts to help them.
Victims need shelter and basic necessities as people fled with nothing on them, trying to save the lives of themselves and their children. IOM is ready to provide everything that is needed, but there is a catastrophic lack of money for humanitarian operations: only 8 percent of the necessary funds have been allocated. IOM has to seek funds by turning to other UN agencies.
Another problem is humanitarian access. Getting into the vicinity of El Fasher is almost impossible, and IOM staff can mainly help only those who have fled the city.
In addition, aid workers themselves are victims of violence – many of them were injured, and several people were killed and injured.