New York, July 02 (Darfur24)
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says it continues to document drone attacks on El Obeid in North Kordofan State that have caused civilian casualties and damaged critical infrastructure, as international concern grows over the humanitarian impact of the fighting.
Speaking at the UN’s daily press briefing on Wednesday, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the attacks have struck civilian infrastructure, including schools, shelters for internally displaced people, fuel stations and fuel storage facilities.
He said the damage to fuel infrastructure and other essential facilities has disrupted electricity and water supplies and further limited access to health care for residents of the city.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on all parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.
“Civilians and civilian objects must not be targeted,” Dujarric said. “These are not new laws, but long-standing rules.”
The remarks come ahead of an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council scheduled for Friday to discuss the deteriorating human rights situation in El Obeid and surrounding areas amid escalating fighting and growing fears of widespread abuses against civilians.
El Obeid and other parts of the Kordofan region have witnessed intensified drone strikes and ground fighting in recent weeks, triggering new displacement, disrupting electricity, water, fuel and health services, and raising concerns of a worsening humanitarian crisis.