Worsening fighting in Sudan limiting humanitarian operations: UN

UNITED NATIONS - In a worsening situation, fighting across Sudan severely limits humanitarian operations, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

"There is limited ability to move personnel and supplies," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. "The targeting and looting of humanitarian premises must stop. Attacks on humanitarian assets and facilities will severely impact our ability to resume lifesaving operations."

The OCHA said the World Food Programme temporarily suspended operations following the killing of three staff members caught in the crossfire in North Darfur. Attacks on critical public facilities, including health, water, sanitation and hygiene, severely affect access to essential services.

Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters in a regular briefing that humanitarian workers in Khartoum were in lockdown. He said members of the humanitarian staff were ordered to stay in their apartments or, in the case of staffers whose apartment were taken over by fighters, to stay in the apartments of friends, neighbors or co-workers.

The humanitarians said nine hospitals in Khartoum and two in Bahri, or Khartoum North, closed due to shelling and insecurity.

Additionally, the World Health Organization warned that several of Khartoum's hospitals ran out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, and other vital medical supplies.

The OCHA reported in a Flash Update earlier Tuesday that fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces occurred throughout the country for the fourth day, with more than 180 people killed and another 1,800 injured.