Secretary-General condemns looting UN facilities in Sudan

New York, 31 December 2021 (TDI): Earlier today, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement stating the following:

“In an effective statement, the Secretary-General strongly condemns looting and attacks against United Nations facilities, equipment, and supplies that were given to Sudanese authorities for civilian use in El Fasher, Darfur. He calls on the Government of Sudan to restore order.”

On the evening of December 28, 2021, an attack was also carried out against a World Food Programme (WFP) facility. It has been reported that over 1,900 metric tons of food commodities, which were meant to provide food for 730,000 vulnerable children, have been looted.

In regard to the loss of aid, equipment, and supplies destined for Darfur communities and meant for the benefit of those communities, the Secretary-General regrets the loss of these items.

It is important that the government of Sudan restore order and make certain that the former property and assets of the former United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, UNAMID, are used exclusively for civil purposes, in accordance with the Framework Agreement signed by the Sudanese government with the United Nations in March of this year.

As part of the Secretary-General’s call, the Sudanese authorities are urged to facilitate safe working environments and adequate passage for all United Nations personnel remaining in El Fasher.

Furthermore, he wishes to express his gratitude to the United Nations civilian and uniformed personnel who have remained on the ground during these challenging times.

And according to WFP, the attacks on warehouses have forced the UN World Food Programme to suspend its operations in El Fasher, North Darfur due to the attacks.

From Rome, the World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended operations in North Darfur following an attack on its warehouses in El Fasher, the capital of the state.

 According to estimates, close to two million people may be affected by the suspension by the year 2022. The attacks began at the end of the evening of December 28th. They continued into the dawn of December 30th.

The looters appear to have taken more than 5,000 metric tons of food, as well as dismantled hundreds of buildings among the warehouses.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is horrified by these senseless attacks and condemns the continued looting of aid and the destruction of its assets in the severest possible terms.

“Due to this situation, we have been forced to suspend our operations in North Darfur, effective immediately,” said David Beasley, Executive Director of WFP.

” This theft has robbed nearly two million people of the food and nutrition support they so desperately need.” “Not only is this a tremendous setback to our operations across the country, but it endangers our staff and jeopardises our ability to meet the needs of the most vulnerable families.”

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (WFP) calls on the government of Sudan to provide adequate security, retrieve the looted stocks, and give guarantees so that WFP can safely resume operations in North Darfur.

To replace the lost food supplies in El Fasher, the stocks that are currently in Sudan cannot be replenished without compromising the assistance that is meant for people in other parts of the country. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Sudan will have an estimated 10.9 million hungry people by 2022.

It’s significant to note that the United Nations World Food Programme is the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for 2020. With food aid, the United Nations World Food Programme, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, aims beyond saving lives in crisis situations to develop pathways to lasting peace, economic stability, and social prosperity for communities affected by natural disasters, war, and climate change.