UN aid chief warns of regional catastrophe as Sudan violence spreads

FILE PHOTO: A view of a farmland in the Gezira Scheme, Sudan May 17, 2022. Picture taken May 17, 2022. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - The top U.N. humanitarian official on Friday voiced concern about the spread of violence in Sudan and said a lasting conflict could tip the entire region into "humanitarian catastrophe".

"This viral conflict and the hunger, disease and displacement left in its wake now threatens to consume the entire country," said Martin Griffiths in a statement sent to journalists on Friday, mentioning specific concerns about the safety of civilians in the country's breadbasket Gezira State.