UN on Friday called for an end to the attacks against its peacekeepers following the death of another member staff from United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) amid the conflict between Israel and Lebanon.
Speaking at a press conference, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the Secretary-General is saddened to learn that a fourth Indonesian peacekeeper serving with the UNIFIL has died.
The 31-year-old Corporal Rico Pramudia succumbed to his wounds on Friday after being critically injured in the incident on March 29, in which an Indonesian peacekeeper was killed right after a projectile exploded inside a UN position near Adchit Al Qusayr in southern Lebanon, the spokesman said.
In response, the Secretary-General reiterated his call on all actors to uphold their obligations under international law and to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel, Dujarric said.
Preliminary findings of the investigation indicated that a shell fired from an Israel Defense Forces Merkava tank struck a UNIFIL position, leading to the deaths of the peacekeepers, Dujarric said.
Six peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL have now been killed and several more have been seriously injured following recent incidents amid the hostilities between Hezbullah and the Israel Defense Forces, Dujarric said.
Dujarric stressed these attacks are unacceptable and they must stop, warning that they may constitute war crimes.
"We've request that the relevant parties ensure these cases are investigated and where appropriate, prosecuted by national authorities in order to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure accountability. Attacks against UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law," he said.
On the political front, UN welcomes the three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Dujarric said.
He noted a concerning incident reported by UN peacekeepers earlier on Friday afternoon that an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade near a UNIFIL patrol clearing a roadblock. No injuries were reported.
On humanitarian front, the ceasefire has somewhat slowed down displacement, but more than 110,000 people are still registered in collective shelters countrywide, Dujarric said, adding that hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced outside of these shelters, and they are staying with relatives, host communities and other makeshift arrangements.
UN calls for end to attacks against UN peacekeepers
The Sudan conflict now in its fourth year has pushed millions into poverty, even forcing some families to rely on animal fodder to survive.
Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023, following months of escalating tensions between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the army chief and head of Sudan's ruling council, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF commander and al-Burhan's former deputy.
Nearly 6.9 million Sudanese were pushed into extreme poverty in 2023 alone, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Currently, around 70 percent of the population are estimated to live in poverty in the country, compared with 38 percent before the war, said UNDP Resident Representative in Sudan Luca Renda.
At the Tawila Camp in North Darfur State, Salha Musa, a displaced widow from El Fasher, is struggling to provide her six children with minimal resources.
Water is available from wells, but other essential services are absent. Inflation and scarcity have forced families to rely on unconventional foods. Everyday staples have disappeared from local markets, leaving vulnerable families at risk of malnutrition.
"Since we arrived in Tawila a month ago, we've been suffering from a severe lack of services, except for water, which we draw from wells. We have no other services here, and we desperately need assistance. Our children aren't receiving an education, and I'm a nurse, but I can't find work," said Salha.
The UNDP warns that Sudan's economy has collapsed under the weight of the ongoing conflict, with GDP falling sharply and more than 13 million people displaced. Extreme poverty rates now surpass those of the 1980s.
"Life is incredibly difficult for us poor people. If we don't have money, what are we supposed to do? Will we starve to death? After the price of corn flour became so high, we stopped buying it. I don't know why they're raising prices or hoarding goods. Flour has completely disappeared from the markets here. After that, flour became expensive and unavailable," said Summia Ahmed, another displaced woman from El Fasher, adding that her family has even started relying on "Ombaz", a kind of animal fodder, as their food.
UNDP projections show that peace could lift millions out of extreme poverty, but delays and continued conflict risk locking the country into decades of low growth and deprivation.
For families like Salha's and Summia's, the road ahead remains uncertain, as conflict continues to dictate daily survival in Sudan.
Sudan conflict pushes millions into poverty
