Over the weekend, drone strikes targeted a UN base and killed six peacekeepers from the UNIFSA mission, while another six people were killed in an attack on a hospital in South Kordofan state, according to initial information from the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
Meanwhile, OCHA said artillery shelling was reported on Monday, posing new threats to civilians.
“I urge all parties to the conflict and influential States to ensure an immediate ceasefire and prevent atrocities.“UN human rights chief Volker Türk said in a statement.
Türk also warned that medical facilities are protected by international humanitarian law.
New displacement
The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 1,700 people were displaced between Thursday and Saturday from several cities in South Kordofan.
Meanwhile, in North Darfur state, displacement continues to increase from besieged El Fasher towards Tawila, where the UN is delivering emergency aid.
Since the end of October, more than 25,000 people have registered in Twila, after fleeing through unsafe routes where they are in extreme danger.
Despite severe logistical and access constraints, the World Food Program (WFP) helped around half a million people in Tawila in November and has consistently reached around 2 million people each month across the Darfur region.
Attacks against peacekeepers
Providing an update at Tuesday’s midday briefing in New York, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said injured peacekeepers who underwent life-saving surgery in Kadugli, Sudan, were evacuated to the UN mission headquarters in the disputed Abyei region on Tuesday morning.
Other injured people were also evacuated there, and four of them have since been sent to Nairobi, Kenya, for further medical treatment.
The remains of the six fallen soldiers have been transported to Entebbe, Uganda, and arrangements are being made for their repatriation to Bangladesh.
Haq stressed that “attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and demand accountability.”