Island's overseas aid commission donates £50k to Sudan conflict

It comes after conflict in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces

Guernsey's Overseas Aid and Development Commission has made a donation of £50,000 for refugees affected by the conflict in Sudan.

It comes after clashes between the Sudanese army and a parliamentary force called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict has displaced more than 700,000 people in Sudan, as well as 30,000 people fleeing to chad and around 45,000 to South Sudan.

The money from the donation will supply items such as sleeping mats, hygiene kits and mosquito nets as well as towards work on monitoring and identifying refugees.

Deputy Chris Blin, commission President, said he wished to "make every effort to relieve the suffering of the many refugees".

He added: " We are convinced of the need to upscale efforts to help these refugees and that is why the commission is pleased to make a disaster and emergency relief award to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).”

The chief executive officer of UK for UNHCR, Emma Cherniavsky, said it was "hugely grateful" for the "unwavering generosity".

She added: "Hundreds of thousands of families have been on the move, facing shortages of food, water, fuel, limited access to transport, communications, electricity, and high prices of basic items."