Sudan

UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Friday strongly condemned an escalation in drone strikes across Sudan this month, which killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds more in the first three weeks of October alone.

Talks to halt the fighting in Sudan and alleviate the humanitarian crisis there continued in Geneva on Wednesday, where nearly two dozen countries convened to discuss a pathway to a ceasefire and transition to peaceful governance that represents all Sudanese people. 

Conflict and drought are increasing the risk of famine across Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warns. … The IPC is an initiative aimed at enhancing food security and consists of 21 organisations and intergovernmental institutions, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

[…] During this meeting, members crossed swords over the sanctions measures, with some vociferously against them, and others making an equally impassioned case for them to be further strengthened and expanded. 

The United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday voted to extend the mandate of its independent international fact-finding mission on Sudan for an additional year, urging warring parties and regional states to cooperate fully with investigators.

[…] The meeting took place on the sidelines of African coordination talks hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the coastal city of New Alamein, where regional leaders gathered to address security challenges.

UN refugee agency says 400 people a day, about 20 times the previous daily rate, now cross from Sudan into eastern Chad.

The African Union and the United States co-chaired an unprecedented joint meeting of the Quad and Quintet diplomatic groupings on Wednesday, seeking to unify fragmented international initiatives to end the devastating war in Sudan. … European Union Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Annette Weber said the gathering signalled a unified international posture on the crisis.

[…] Hamdok’s delegation urged the U.N. to coordinate fragmented international and regional mediation efforts, linking humanitarian, security and political tracks into a unified process.

UN aid agencies on Monday said they may be forced to scale back humanitarian aid in Sudan – home of the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis – due to funding shortfalls. … WFP is only about one-third funded in Sudan, according to Mr. Skau [WFP Acting Director].