Nairobi — President William Ruto has asked warring parties in Sudan to allow humanitarian agencies to operate freely.

The President said the agencies are helping to alleviate the suffering caused by the conflict and their work should proceed unimpeded.

He was speaking when he met the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi who briefed him on the humanitarian and refugee crisis in the Sudan.

Grandi told President Ruto, who is also the chair of the Quartet Group of Countries on the IGAD roadmap to peace in Sudan, that the situation has escalated and the number of refugees fleeing the war is expected to hit the two million mark.

"The huge number of refugees at the borders of Egypt and Chad have led to a lot of suffering," he said.

"The saddest part is that the humanitarian staff are not respected and the UNHCR office in Khartoum has been destroyed."

As chair of the IGAD Quartet Group of Countries, President Ruto said they were working to end to the crisis.

The quartet brings together Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

President Ruto said the Council of Ministers of the group met on Monday under the chairmanship of Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alfred Mutua.

Grandi informed the President that the UN agency had received a huge boost for its humanitarian efforts after a call for donations raised $1.5 billion on Monday.

He explained that the organisation is seeking $3 billion.

President Ruto commended the fundraising effort and thanked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his tremendous leadership. - Presidential Communication Service