Although the driver was unharmed, all supplies were destroyed in the fire.
The truck was headed to the city of Tawila, where 700,000 people have sought safety after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Sudan. The brutal civil war between rival armies has now entered its fourth year.
UNHCR will continue its work to reach people displaced by the conflict, including almost nine million across the country and more than 860,000 people who have fled across the border to other countries.
‘Ordinary families’ killed and injured
The second incident occurred on Saturday when a drone reportedly caused casualties in residential neighborhoods in the city of El Obeid, North Kordofan state.
According to a local medical group, seven people were killed and more than 20 were injured.
“These are ordinary families in their homes, trapped in the violence that continues to reach civilian neighborhoods,” Dujarric said. “We condemn all these attacks.”
Meanwhile, a recent assessment by UN partners has revealed a worsening humanitarian situation in displacement sites in Blue Nile State, he added.
The main factors include overcrowding, lack of privacy, inadequate housing, poor sanitation and increased risks of gender-based violence.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Denise Brown visited the state capital, Damazine, last week, where she highlighted how funding gaps, insecurity and access limitations continue to prevent aid organizations from scaling up their response.
South Sudan: UN responds to inter-communal violence and rising tensions in Warrap State
We move to South Sudan, where the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, UNMISS, responded to deadly inter-communal violence in the Tonj metropolitan area of Warrap State over the weekend.
Peacekeepers were deployed to the region to help stabilize the situation.
“However, tensions remain high and the Mission has a rapid reaction force ready to deter further conflict,” said UN spokesman Mr. Dujarric.
UNMISS is also engaging community leaders and authorities in efforts to restore calm.
Patrols in Central Equatoria and mobile court in the state of Unity
Separately, peacekeepers conducted a two-day patrol in Central Equatoria State to assess the situation in Khor Kaltan/Jebel Iraq following reports of a deadly attack on civilians in late March.
The patrol team met with community representatives and security forces on the ground.
UNMISS had made several previous attempts to access the area but was denied.
In other developments: A UNMISS-supported mobile court in the city of Leer concluded its work after hearing 68 civil and criminal cases in several counties in the southern state of Unity and the Bentiu displaced persons camp.
This resulted in 31 criminal sentences with 18 convictions, others acquitted or dismissed, and 29 people released after unjustified or prolonged detention.
Mr. Dujarric explained that “such mobile justice interventions are part of the Mission’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the rule of law and access to justice throughout South Sudan.”
Aid workers, civilians and infrastructure under fire in Ukraine
At least three drone strikes hit humanitarian vehicles in the Ukrainian city of Kherson over the past week, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported on Monday.
Two incidents involved the same local non-governmental organization (NGO), while another affected a different organization delivering food. Several aid workers were also injured.
Across Ukraine, at least three aid workers were killed and five injured during the first three months of the year, according to humanitarian partners.
OCHA said the escalation of hostilities over the weekend into Monday morning caused nearly 130 civilian casualties and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, with the Dnipro and Odessa regions among the worst affected.
Widespread attacks
The attacks also caused casualties and damage in seven other regions (Kharkov, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Chernihiv, kyiv and Sumy) and affected homes, schools, transport and energy infrastructure.
In response, humanitarian partners are providing psychosocial support, hot meals and repair materials.
Meanwhile, civilians continue to be evacuated from frontline areas in Ukraine.
Some 1,900 people – including more than 360 children – were evacuated this weekend from communities near the fighting in Donetsk with the support of humanitarian organizations and local authorities.
In the past, apartheid stood in the way of a hopeful future for South Africa, but overcoming racial injustice paved the way for a society based on equality and shared rights for all.
Guterres marks South Africa Freedom Day with call to end xenophobia
On the occasion of South Africa’s Freedom Day on April 27, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres extended his greetings to the nation and expressed deep concern over reports of xenophobic attacks and intimidation of foreign nationals.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the UN chief strongly condemned criminal acts and incitement of violence against migrants in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape province.
He reminded the international community that South Africa’s own fight against apartheid was based on global and African solidarity.
There is no place for hate
“Violence, vigilantism and all forms of hate speech have no place in an inclusive democratic society,” the spokesperson said, noting that South Africa’s development has long been determined by the contributions of people across the continent.
While acknowledging the complex socio-economic challenges, the Secretary-General welcomed the Government’s commitment to the National Action Plan against Racism and Xenophobia.
He urged that all investigations into recent violence be prompt, independent and impartial.