UN chief welcomes Sudan civilian, aid delivery safety promise from warring factions

UNITED NATIONS, May 12 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the signing of a commitment to protect civilians and humanitarian aid delivery in Sudan, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"The secretary-general welcomes the signing by the parties to the conflict in Sudan of the Declaration of Commitment to protect civilians and guarantee the safe passage of humanitarian aid in the country," said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for Guterres.

"While humanitarian workers, most notably local partners, have continued to deliver in very difficult circumstances, the secretary-general hopes this declaration will ensure that the relief operation can scale up swiftly and safely to meet the needs of millions of people in Sudan," Dujarric said.

The UN chief reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire and expanded discussions to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities, the spokesman said.

After almost a week of negotiations in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the warring Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces signed the declaration on Thursday.

The spokesman said the United Nations would spare no effort to assist in the declaration's implementation and will continue to deliver humanitarian aid, ceasefire or not.

Word of the accord coincided with a fire in a Khartoum factory producing food for the UN Children's Agency. "It is yet another bitter blow to Sudan's most vulnerable children," said the agency's spokesman in Geneva, James Elder. "This is the darkest, most distinct illustration to date of how this conflict threatens the lives of children through multiple means."

He said the SAMIL factory fire destroyed 14,500 cartons of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for the life-saving treatment of 14,500 children. The factory produced 60 percent of the RUTF used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition in Sudan last year.

Elder added that the blaze destroyed the factory's machinery. However, the agency said it has 34,000 cartons of RUTF enroute from France, with another 81,000 cartons to be sent from France at the end of the month.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned that the situation is critical, with the humanitarian response significantly underfunded in Sudan and some of its neighbors: Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia. The agency deployed teams and is rushing to deliver aid with its partners, but ramping up its operations will require more funding.

Almost 200,000 people have fled the conflict in Sudan so far, UNHCR said.

The World Food Programme reported it delivered food assistance to 50,000 people in the states of Kassala, Gedaref and White Nile.