In a statement, the group urged both Sudan"s army and its rival RSF to allow relief efforts “to reach the heartland of the crisis and contain the famine" It also urged the paramilitary RSF “to refrain from any attacks targeting civilians” and the Sudan Armed Forces “to stop its widespread aerial bombardments” RIYADH: A coalition of nations working for a resolution of Sudan’s civil war urged the warring parties on Saturday to expand access to famine-stricken areas by humanitarian relief efforts. In a joint statement, the ALPS Group said that while humanitarian operations “are now moving across conflict lines from Port of Sudan through Shendi to Khartoum,” wider access must be ensured for relief efforts “to reach the heartland of the crisis and contain the famine.” “(T)his expansion of humanitarian access, while a positive sign, remains insufficient to meet both the needs of the people and to ensure the efficient delivery of the hundreds of thousands of tons of additional humanitarian assistance being mobilized for the people of Sudan,” the statement said. The ALPS Group — which stands for Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan — issued the statement after a virtual meeting on September 19, during which it received “sobering updates” on the ground situation in the troubled North African nation. The group includes Saudi Arabia, the US, Switzerland, the UAE, Egypt, the African Union, and the United Nations. During the virtual meeting, the group noted an instance of “catastrophic malnutrition” at the Zamzam camp near the town of El-Fasher in North Darfur state. Already the largest refugee camp in Sudan with half a million people, Zamzam has become more crowded after war broke out in April 2023 between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to relief agencies. Recent reports have said the famine-stricken camp is now facing the risk of infectious diseases after it was hit by floods. The humanitarian group Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, had earlier warned last May about an "acute disaster on a catastrophic scale" happening in the camp as the number of evacuees continued to swell. In its statement on Saturday, the ALPS Group welcomed the full opening by the government of General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of the Kassala and Dongola airports for the UN’s World Food Program’s Humanitarian Air Service. However, it said, RSF and Sudan Armed Forces should also ensure “unhindered and safe access” for relief efforts along the Khartoum route and other routes, including from Khartoum to El Obeid and to Kosti, from Kassala to Wad Medani and beyond. The ALPS Group also urged the paramilitary RSF “to refrain from any attacks targeting civilians” and the Sudan Armed Forces “to stop its widespread aerial bombardments.” It also called on international partners to join efforts to reach immediate humanitarian pauses to the fighting to allow humanitarian access and corridors for civilians most in need.