RCJA lauds Jordanian-drafted UN resolution for Gaza ceasefire

UNGA vote on a resolution at the resumed 10th Emergency Special Session meeting on the situation in Gaza. (UN Photo)
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Updated 29 October 2023
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RCJA lauds Jordanian-drafted UN resolution for Gaza ceasefire

  • Non-binding resolution was adopted on Friday by a large majority of member states

LONDON: Jordan has played an active diplomatic role in mobilizing international pressure to put an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and its ongoing violations of humanitarian law, the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs told Jordan News Agency on Sunday.
Abdullah Kanaan, secretary-general of the RCJA, lauded the Jordanian-drafted UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate and continuous humanitarian truce between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza. It also demands “continuous, sufficient and unhindered” provision of lifesaving supplies and services for civilians trapped inside the enclave.
The non-binding resolution was adopted on Friday by a large majority of member states, with 120 votes in favor, 14 against, and 45 abstentions. It came as Israel launched a ground invasion and intensified its bombardment campaign, which caused a near-total telecommunications blackout in the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave.
Kanaan said the resolution reflects an international will to reject the atrocities against civilians in Gaza, given the UN Security Council’s repeated failures to adopt similar resolutions calling for peace in recent weeks.
He said this collective stance can be used to build an international lobby to push Israel and its allies.
The secretary-general affirmed that the resolution reflects global hopes to establish peace for the Palestinian people, their right to self-determination, and to raise public awareness of the Palestinian cause amid fears that the conflict would grow into a larger regional conflict.
 


US condemns RSF drone attack on World Food Programme convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan

Updated 42 min 12 sec ago
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US condemns RSF drone attack on World Food Programme convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan

  • Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, also expresses concern over the drone attack

WASHINGTON: The US has condemned a drone attack by Rapid Support Forces on an aid convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan state that killed one person and injured three others.

“The United States condemns the recent drone attack on a World Food Program convoy in North Kordofan transporting food to famine-stricken people which killed one and wounded many others,” US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos wrote on X.

“Destroying food intended for people in need and killing humanitarian workers is sickening,” the US envoy wrote.

“The Trump Administration has zero tolerance for this destruction of life and of U.S.-funded assistance; we demand accountability and extend our condolences to all those affected by these inexcusable events and terrible war,” he added.

The Sudan Doctors Network, on its social media accounts, said the World Food Programme (WFP) convoy was struck by RSF drones in the Allah Karim area as it headed toward displaced people in El-Obeid, the state capital.

The network described the attack as a “clear violation of international humanitarian law,” warning that it undermines efforts to deliver life-saving aid to civilians amid worsening humanitarian conditions across the country.

There was no immediate comment from the rebel group.

 

 

Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, in a statement also expressed concern over the drone attack which hit the aid trucks in North Kordofan.

“I am deeply concerned by a drone attack earlier today on trucks contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in North Kordofan, the aftermath of which I came across a few hours later, as I left the state capital, El Obeid.”

“The trucks were en route from Kosti to deliver life-saving food assistance to displaced families near El Obeid when they were struck, tragically killing at least one individual and injuring many more. The trucks caught fire, destroying food commodities intended for life-saving humanitarian response.”

Brown added that “Humanitarian personnel, assets and supplies must be protected at all times. Attacks on aid operations undermine efforts to reach people facing hunger and displacement.”

“Safe and unimpeded humanitarian access remains critical to ensure assistance reaches the most vulnerable people across Sudan.”

Since April 2023, the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary forces has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million and which the UN has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

An alert issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), confirmed famine conditions in El-Fasher and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, about 800 kilometers to the east.

The IPC said that 20 more areas in Sudan’s Darfur and neighboring Kordofan were at risk of famine.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states in the western Darfur region, except for parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army holds most areas of the remaining 13 states across the south, north, east and center of the country, including the capital, Khartoum.

The conflict between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.