“We strongly condemn this and all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Dujarric told reporters in New York.
Meanwhile, insecurity forced some 115 people to flee their homes in a village in the town of Kutum, in North Darfur state, last Sunday.
They have sought refuge in the regional capital, El Fasher, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Child vaccination campaign
Despite numerous challenges, the UN and its partners continue to respond to needs across Sudan, where the brutal civil war has entered its fourth year.
The UN health agency, WHO, is halfway through a six-day vaccination campaign, which aims to reach more than 81,000 young children in eight towns in West Darfur state.
“Once again, we reiterate the need for safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access, as well as flexible financing, to reach those most in need and support the most vulnerable,” Dujarric said.
100 million people in more than 60 countries live at risk of landmines
Bitter conflicts around the world prompted an alert from landmine clearance experts on Wednesday, who highlighted the growing dangers posed by unexploded ordnance, both today and decades from now.
Every year, many thousands of people are killed or injured on land contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war. Nine out of ten victims are civilians (half of them children), according to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
The agency has convened national demining experts and partners from around the world to its annual meeting in Geneva, where UNMAS director Kazumi Ogawa said the conflict “has continued or deepened in many regions of the world, exposing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to the risk of mines and explosive devices.”
Also at the meeting, United Nations Global Advocate for Peace, poet Maryam Bukar Hassan, described the impact of landmines on communities in war-torn Borno State in Nigeria:
“I come from Borno State in Nigeria and it ranks fifth in the world for civilian casualties. So this is not distant or abstract to me,” he said.
Hear more of his moving testimony below:
Ms. Hassan explained that years of insurgency in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, had left the land heavily contaminated with landmines.
In 2023 alone, “hundreds of explosions” left “lives and bodies altered,” he continued, while in 2024, more than 400 civilians were killed and injured by landmines.
“This is what they (landmines) do. They don’t ask who you are. They don’t care which side you belong to, they don’t recognize ceasefires,” the UN Peace Advocate said.
The Antipersonnel Landmine Convention, known as the Ottawa Treaty, is one of the most successful international disarmament treaties. It is regrettable that some states are now withdrawing from the Treaty, UNMAS chief Ms Ogawa told reporters in Geneva.
Singapore: Türk calls for moratorium on executions
Human rights chief Volker Türk has expressed alarm over the rise in executions for drug-related crimes in Singapore, and called for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty.
So far this year, eight people have been executed for drug crimes. In 2025, 15 of every 17 people executed had drug-related convictions.
Last week, Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj was executed for cannabis trafficking after his family received just two weeks’ notice.
“On every level, taking this man’s life is cruel and inhumane,” Mr. Türk said.
The UN opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and supports its abolition worldwide, citing the risk of executing an innocent person and its incompatibility with human dignity.
According to UN data, more than two-thirds of countries have already abolished it in law or practice, reflecting a clear global trend towards abolition.