Attacks in Darfur: The SG today announced that he is “appalled” by the recent attacks against peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan which killed four Nigerian peacekeepers and left eight wounded. The incident occurred some two kilometers from the Mission’s regional headquarters in El Geneina, West Darfur. The SG is urging the Government of Sudan to carry out a full investigation.
Turkey: The SG spoke to Turkey’s Foreign Minister today by phone, expressing his deepest concern at the incident which has reportedly killed at least six Turkish civilians and gravely wounded others in the town of Akcakale near the Syrian border, according to his spokesperson.
SC on Haiti: The US Envoy to Haiti briefed the Security Council today, stressing that Haiti must focus on strengthening its rule of law institutions, including its national police and electoral council, to consolidate the gains it has achieved in recent years. He also recommended an extension of the mandate of the peacekeeping force there, MINUSTAH.
Flood Victims: OCHA announced today that the UN and its humanitarian partners have so far distributed 655 tons of food to more than half of the 20,000 families affected by flooding in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh provinces. The agency noted that more than 300,000 people in the flood-affected districts in Pakistan urgently require help for their nutrition needs.
Refugees: UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Erika Feller appealed to the annual meeting of the refugee agency’s governing Executive Committee in Geneva today for strengthened political will to help the world’s more than 42 million refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and stateless people, amid a recent rise in new humanitarian emergencies in Africa and the Middle East.