Humanitarian situation in Sudan still deteriorating: UN official

United Nations, June 16 As the violent conflict in Sudan has entered its third month, humanitarian situation across the country continues to deteriorate, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said.

Griffiths, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, also warned that situation in Sudan's Darfur is spiraling into humanitarian calamity, reports Xinhua news agency.

Some 1.7 million people are now internally displaced while close to half a million people have sought refuge outside Sudan, he said.

Looting of medical and humanitarian assets continues on a massive scale and farmers are unable to reach their land, which further raises the risk of food insecurity, the UN official said and noted that there has also been a spike in reports of gender-based violence.

"I am particularly worried about conditions in Darfur where people are trapped in a living nightmare," Griffiths said in a statement.

In addition to dire humanitarian situations, inter-communal violence is spreading in Darfur, threatening to reignite the ethnic tensions that stoked the deadly conflict there 20 years ago, he said.

He noted that the violence is hampering humanitar' efforts, and urged parties to the conflict and those with influence to ensure the movement of humanitarian supplies and personnel from other parts of Sudan, as well as from neighbouring countries, to Darfur where close to 9 million people need assistance.

"Darfur is rapidly spiraling into a humanitarian calamity. The world cannot allow this to happen. Not again," said Griffiths.