Aid groups call for humanitarian access

Aid groups on Tuesday urged Sudan's warring parties to guarantee humanitarian access for those in need as the death toll in the fighting neared 200.

"We have thousands of volunteers who are ready, able and trained to perform humanitarian services" in the country, said Farid Aiywar, the Sudan head of delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

"Unfortunately, due to the current situation, they are not able to move," he told reporters in Geneva, via video-link from Nairobi.

Aiywar called on all parties to allow humanitarian aid corridors to operate.

UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said the United Nations had about 800 international staff and 3,200 national staff in Sudan.

"We are of course worried for the security, they cannot operate in a regular way," she said.