UNITED NATIONS, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Looters raided the main offices of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum over the weekend, days after looting 17,000 metric tons of food from WFP warehouses in the country, a UN spokesman said on Monday.
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN chief strongly condemned the looting.
"This is the latest violation of humanitarian facilities since the start of the crisis, which is in its fourth week," Haq said. "Most, if not all, United Nations agencies and our humanitarian partners have been impacted by large-scale looting."
Haq said the secretary-general reiterated his call to protect and respect humanitarian workers and facilities in order to save lives.
"The needs of the Sudanese people, who are caught up in a humanitarian catastrophe, must come first," the spokesman said.
He said the latest looting involved office equipment and supplies, including laptops. No value was given. The food looted from warehouses was valued at more than 13 million U.S. dollars.
However, the spokesman said, the UN and its partners are working to expand humanitarian operations. "This includes efforts to move supplies into and around the country, as we respond to rapidly growing needs."
Haq said that in Blue Nile State, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partners are supporting health and nutrition programs, including immunizations, screening and treatment for malnutrition, as well as pregnancy care and reproductive health services.
In North Darfur, he said humanitarian partners are supporting health facilities with medicine, water and other items. Twenty healthcare facilities received water, sanitation and hygiene support, with at least 100,000 liters of water brought in by truck.
The spokesman said that in Port Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Arab Emirates delivered 30 tons of medical supplies containing essential medicine and emergency surgical items to reach 165,000 people through 13 major health facilities. It is WHO's first air delivery to Sudan since the conflict erupted.
Officials authorized customs clearance for 80 tons of medical supplies offloaded in Port Sudan last week, he said. The shipment includes intravenous fluids and supplies for treating traumatic injuries and severe acute malnutrition.
"With more humanitarian shipments expected to arrive in Sudan in the coming days and weeks, we call for customs clearance to be expedited to ensure that life-saving assistance can reach people in need as quickly as possible," said Haq,
He said WFP restarted its operations in Sudan last week to meet the needs of 384,000 pre-existing refugees, host communities and both pre-existing and newly internally displaced people across Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile states. It marks the first time WFP provides emergency food assistance in Gezira, where freshly displaced Khartoum families fled the conflict.
