UN chief welcomes relocation of UN staff in Sudan

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday welcomed the safe temporary relocation of hundreds of UN staff members and dependents from Khartoum and other places in Sudan, Azernews reports citing Xinhua.

Guterres appreciated the cooperation by all sides in Sudan to allow for the operation to be carried out without incident. He reiterated his call on the parties to immediately cease hostilities and allow all civilians to evacuate from areas affected by the fighting, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN chief, in a statement.

The world body has about 4,000 staff in Sudan, of which 800 are international.

Deadly armed clashes broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, killing more than 424 people, with about 3,730 wounded by Saturday, according to the country's health ministry.