UNITED NATIONS, March 21. /TASS/. The UN Security Council has started to frequently politicize the issue of food security, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Yevstigneyeva told UNSC briefing on the situation in Sudan.

"Unfortunately, Security Council started to encounter politicization of food security and humanitarian aspects rather frequently. The Council has no levers to remedy the situation, because it is dealt with by other UN bodies. That is why, at certain times, the atmosphere here gets heated up for political reasons. Quite often this is done in the interests of external players," she said.

The diplomat went on to say that "the conflict has clearly worsened the humanitarian situation in Sudan," adding that "economic and other restrictive measures applied by the West against that country have undermined the resilience of Sudanese society."

She reiterated that Russia is helping Sudan both in the bilateral format and via international organizations.

"In 2022, a shipment of 20,000 tons of food-grade wheat was dispatched to Port Sudan. In 2023, our country made a voluntary contribution of $2.5 million to the World Food Program to provide food aid to Sudan. In May 2023, already after the beginning of the current conflict, Russia donated medicines and medical equipment sufficient to assist 12,000 patients, including surgical operations. A year earlier, Sudan received about 100 Russian anticholera and antimalaria modules," the diplomat said.

The situation in Sudan escalated in April 2023 due to disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the ruling Sovereignty Council, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti). The main points of contention between them pertain to the timeline and methods for unifying the armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should be appointed as commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is al-Burhan’s preferred option, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists. On April 15, 2023, clashes broke out between the two groups, which spread to other parts of the country. The opposing sides held a series of consultations in the Saudi city of Jeddah in 2023. To date, several ceasefires have been agreed but none of the agreements has been fully implemented.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the ongoing clashes in Sudan may result in disease outbreaks and eventual fatal collapse of the country’s healthcare system. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations estimates the number of internally displaced persons in the country to exceed seven billion.