Statement by Ms. Gwi-Yeop Son, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, on SLA-AW’s ceasefire and access to a landslide-affected area in East Jebel Marra [EN/AR]

Khartoum, 2 October 2018. The United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) in Sudan, Gwi-Yeop Son, welcomed a three-month unilateral cessation of hostilities by the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW). This allowed access to an area in East Jebel Marra that had been affected by a landslide earlier in September. “The United Nations welcomes the unilateral ceasefire by the SLA-AW that enabled the United Nations to provide emergency assistance to about 380 people,” said Ms. Son.

The UN reached this week the villages of Wadi Tuliba and Tagulei in East Jebel Marra that were hit by landslides following heavy rains in early September. The UN provided relief assistance to 76 affected families (about 380 people), including tents and plastic sheets for shelter, kitchen sets, jerry cans, blankets and mosquito nets, and treated the injured and ill. 16 people were killed by landslides, with reports of more people injured or sick, with several homes destroyed by the disaster and livestock lost. Humanitarian agencies will continue providing the landslide-affected people with humanitarian assistance and other support, including food and non-food relief aid, from nearby villages.

The Government of Sudan and SLA-AW are facilitating access to the affected area. The two affected villages are in a mountainous area where access and logistics are complicated by lack of roads and difficult terrain. SLA-AW controlled areas of the Jebel Marra massif straddling parts of North,
Central and South Darfur states had been inaccessible for many years.

For further information, please contact the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan (OCHASudan@un.org).