The war in Sudan has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of people from their homes. Top news of the day | Thursday: Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, water resources UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the crisis in the Middle East, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the front-line areas of Ukraine, a drone strike near the Sudan-Chad border, the UN World Water Report.
War in the Middle East
Powerful airstrikes that have continued since February 28 have led to numerous civilian casualties in Iran and widespread destruction in at least 20 provinces, including Tehran, Isfahan and Kermanshah. This was announced on Thursday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Since the beginning of the war, more than one thousand two hundred people have been killed, over 17 thousand have been injured. Millions of people fled the affected areas. It is estimated that up to 3.2 million people are internally displaced. Humanitarian organizations warn that the need for shelter and humanitarian aid is rapidly growing as the crisis deepens.
Humanitarian assistance to the front-line regions of Ukraine
Despite missile strikes and drone attacks, humanitarian organizations continue to deliver aid to the front-line areas of Ukraine. The day before, an interdepartmental convoy led by the head of the Ukrainian office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Andrea de Domenico, delivered aid to the Dnipropetrovsk region, 10 kilometers from the front line. Following the drone strikes, most shops and pharmacies in the region are closed, leaving local residents – including the elderly and people with disabilities – almost entirely dependent on external humanitarian support. A day earlier, another convoy delivered hygiene kits, solar lamps, bedding and other items to Borovaya, Kharkov region. The UN human rights monitoring mission said at least 188 civilians were killed and 757 wounded in February – a third more than a year earlier. Today’s drone strikes in the center of Odessa damaged residential buildings and injured several residents.
Sudan: drone strike near the border with Chad
At least 17 civilians were killed and many others were injured in a drone strike yesterday on the town of Tine, located on the border of Sudan and Chad. Attacks of this nature increase the risk of regional destabilization as neighboring states increasingly find themselves drawn into the orbit of hostilities. The active use of increasingly powerful drones by both sides in the conflict is expanding the geography of combat operations and accelerating the growth in the number of civilian casualties. UN agencies on Thursday again called on the parties to the conflict to immediately reduce the level of violence, respect international humanitarian law and return to negotiations to find a sustainable political solution.
UN World Water Report
Despite progress in recent decades, inequality continues to undermine water security around the world, disproportionately affecting women and girls. They are the ones who most often collect water, but remain excluded from water management and decision-making processes. This is the key finding of the UN World Water Report, published Thursday by UNESCO. The report notes that 2.1 billion people around the world lack access to safe drinking water, with women and girls most affected by the problem. In more than 70 percent of rural households without access to water, women are responsible for collecting water.