UN refugee chief Barham Salih slams ‘shameful’ war in Sudan, urges ‘political solution’

Barham Salih, the UN refugee chief and a former refugee, condemned the war in Sudan as “shameful” and called for a political solution. Now in its fourth year, the conflict has displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands killed, injured or traumatised.

Salih said US funding cuts had severely affected UNHCR’s work, despite increased support from the EU. In Adré, Chad, the agency can provide refugees with only eight litres of water per person each day; in Gambela, Ethiopia, about 60,000 refugees share one doctor. He also warned that asylum systems were under threat from increasingly politicised debate, arguing that asylum and immigration control can work together.