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<\/p>\n
In recent days the Emergency Relief Coordinator has travelled to various parts of the war-torn country and met leaders, frontline responders and survivors of the crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more UN boots on the ground,\u201d Mr. Fletcher said. \u201cThe UN is a ship that was not built to stay in the harbour, and this visit has been part of that big push to make sure we’re mobilised closer to those we serve<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Fletcher said he had a \u201cuseful\u201d meeting with General Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), focused on getting \u201cunlimited\u201d and \u201cunhindered\u201d humanitarian access.<\/p>\n He also met representatives from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in what was a \u201ctough\u201d discussion, where he set out \u201cunequivocally\u201d that the UN will be expecting protection for civilians and insisting on accountability and safe passages for civilians and aid convoys.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have, I think, a pretty strong agreement from the authorities [of the military government] in Port Sudan and the RSF on full access and safe passage for our convoys to go in and for civilians to get out,\u201d Mr. Fletcher said. \u201cNow let’s see what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n The UN also made progress on getting teams into El Fasher, in Darfur, on the organization\u2019s terms, Mr. Fletcher added.<\/p>\nProgress on negotiations<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2018Crime scene\u2019 in El Fasher\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n