🛑Commander Joseph Tuka calls aerial bombardment of Yabus a desperate attempt by Islamists to impose their agenda by force
Mirm News – quoting splmn.net
Commander Joseph Tuka Ali, First Vice Chairman of the SPLM-North, said in an exclusive statement to the official website splmn.net from New Fung: “The aerial bombardment on the Yabus area is nothing but a desperate attempt by the Islamists in Port Sudan to impose their agenda on the Sudanese people with the military machine.”
“But they failed to do so throughout their control of the Sudanese state because the Sudanese people were able to resist and defeat their racist and exclusionary project.”
Tuka asked why the air force targeted the offices of international humanitarian organizations and unarmed citizens despite the fact that they are not part of the ongoing war, indicating that the SPLM succeeded in hosting and sheltering thousands of displaced people fleeing the April 15, 2023 war who chose areas under SPLM control as a safe haven for them.
Commenting on the Port Sudan statement, Tuka said: “The Port Sudan statement is nothing but a ploy to cover up the heinous crimes, evade responsibility, and mislead the Sudanese people.”
The airstrike caused major losses, including the complete destruction of the WFP offices in Yabous and the killing and wounding of WFP staff.
Tuka called on the United Nations and the international community to play their role in providing protection to citizens, and appealed to international humanitarian organizations to continue their efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the citizens of New Fung to save their lives from the danger of the humanitarian disaster that hit the region.
The SPLM-N controls large areas in New Fung and the Nuba Mountains.
Last August, the New Sudan Civil Authority in SPLM-controlled areas declared a famine following the influx of thousands of displaced people into the liberated territories.
According to the statement below, the Secretary-General expressed his outrage at the killing of three WFP staff members in Sudan on Thursday, December 19, when the WFP field office in Yabus, Blue Nile State, was hit by an aerial bombardment.
In a press release attributed to his spokesperson, Secretary-General António Guterres offered his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and their colleagues at the World Food Program (WFP). He condemned all attacks on UN and humanitarian personnel and facilities and called for a thorough investigation.
Yesterday’s incident underscores the devastating effects that Sudan’s brutal conflict is having on the millions of people in need and the humanitarian workers trying to reach them with life-saving aid, the press release said.
The UN statement added that 2024 is the deadliest year ever for aid workers in Sudan, and yet, despite significant threats to their personal safety, they continue to do everything they can to provide vital support wherever it is necessary.
The Secretary-General called on the parties to comply with their obligations to protect civilians, including aid workers, buildings and humanitarian supplies. He emphasized that attacks should not be directed against them, and that all feasible precautions should be taken to avoid harming them.
After more than twenty months of conflict in Sudan, the Secretary-General once again stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and emphasized that the UN will continue to support international mediation efforts and work with all relevant stakeholders to help end the war.
El Fasher siege
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the current siege of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and ongoing fighting is “taking lives on a massive scale” and cannot continue, calling on the Rapid Support Forces to end “this appalling siege.”
In a statement issued on Friday, Mr. Türk urged all parties to the conflict to cease attacks on civilians and civilian objects and comply with their duties and obligations under international law.
According to a report by his office, the ongoing siege and hostilities in El Fasher have killed at least 782 civilians and injured more than 1,143 others. The siege, which began seven months ago, has turned the city into a battleground between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied forces, the UNHCR said.
Based on interviews with 52 people who fled El Fasher, the report reported regular and intensive shelling of densely populated residential areas by the RSF, and frequent air strikes and artillery shelling by the Sudanese Armed Forces and their allies. It warned that attacks on civilians and civilian objects “may amount to war crimes”.
The OHCHR report documents a major escalation in June that killed dozens of civilians “Inside their homes, in markets and streets, and in the vicinity of hospitals.” The report referred to the Thawra South neighborhood, where residents were unable to “From collecting the bodies of those who died in the streets for several days, due to the constant shelling and heavy exchanges of fire.”
The Saudi Maternity Hospital – currently the only remaining public hospital in El Fasher capable of providing surgeries and sexual and reproductive health services – has been repeatedly shelled by the RSF, the report said, while the report documented an increase in cases of sexual violence since the start of the siege.
A looming catastrophe
The Zamzam IDP camp adjacent to the city – home to hundreds of thousands of IDPs – is seeing a growing presence of joint forces allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and has been shelled six times by the RSF, killing at least 15 IDPs, UNHCR said. She warned that this – and the parallel mobilization of fighters along tribal lines by parties to the conflict across Darfur – indicates that preparations may be underway for further hostilities.
The High Commissioner said: “A large-scale attack on Zam Zam camp and El Fasher city would increase the suffering of civilians to catastrophic levels and deepen the already dire humanitarian situation, including famine conditions. All efforts, including by the international community, must be made to prevent such an attack and end the siege.”
Mr. Türk also called on all parties to the conflict to embrace mediation efforts in good faith, with the aim of an immediate cessation of hostilities.
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