New York - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Martin Griffiths, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, affirmed the commitment of the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid to those affected by the ongoing fighting in a number of areas in Sudan. According to what came in the daily bulletin of the United Nations, of which we received a copy this morning, Thursday, via e-mail, it also stated, "Speaking from the city of Port Sudan, which he arrived at at the request of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Griffiths said, in a press conference on the Internet, that his visit to the region aims to Ensure that the humanitarian community, UN agencies and NGOs are able to do the work necessary to respond to the needs of people in Sudan.
He said he had fruitful discussions with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Volker Peretz, and the heads of the main humanitarian agencies present in Port Sudan.
He indicated that he sensed - through the discussions he held in Nairobi and Port Sudan - a strong desire and willingness on the part of humanitarian agencies to provide assistance, recalling the very difficult conditions in which humanitarian workers work in Sudan.
"We all know we can and must do more," Griffiths added.
And after it was announced yesterday, Wednesday, that the battles continued, as air strikes were heard in Khartoum and the neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri, despite the agreement of the two sides to extend a series of fragile truce periods, while on Thursday a new truce entered into force for another seven days.
Martin Griffiths, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, is seeking to meet with the parties to the conflict in Sudan, as announced yesterday in order to secure safe passage for the delivery of humanitarian aid, after six trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies were looted.