The United Nations Secretary- General, Antonio Guterres has appealed to the Sudanesse Armed Force and the Rapid Support Forces to respect the 72-hour ceasefire brokered by United States and come together to establish permanent cessation of hostilities.
In his remarks to Security Council on Monday, Guterres said the fighting must stop immediately and need an all-out effort for peace while called on the parties to the conflict, Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti”, to silence the guns.
He said, “It is incumbent on Sudanese leaders to put the interests of their people front and centre. This conflict will not, and must not, be resolved on the battle field with the bodies of Sudan’s people.
“The parties to the conflict must respect 72-hour ceasefire brokered by the United States and come together to establish a permanent cessation of hostilities”, the Secretary-General added.
UN Chief urged Council members, other Member States and regional organizations with influence to press them to de-escalate tensions and return to negotiating table, while commended Sudanese, international partners, including several who are working to support peace in the country.
According to him, “For ten days, Sudan has been ravaged by a deadly conflict despite calls for a ceasefire from inside and outside the country. At least 450 people have been killed including four members of the United Nations family. Over 4,000 people have been injured, tens of thousands have fled their homes.
“Reports from Khartoum paint a devastating picture. People are trapped indoors, terrified, with dwindling supplies of food, water, medicines and fuel. Health services are near collapse, and according to the World Health Organization WHO several hospitals are being used by armed groups.
“Across the country, there are reports of armed clashes. People have fled their homes in Blue Nile and North Kordofan states, and across Darfur. Refugees and returnees have arrived in Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, and I thank the governments of those countries for their support”.
He lamented that these ten days of violence, chaos are heartbreaking. “A prolonged, full-scale war is unbearable to contemplate. Sudan borders seven countries, all of which have either been involved in conflict or seen serious civil unrest over the past decade.
“It is a gateway to the Sahel, where insecurity and political instability are making an already catastrophic humanitarian situation even worse. Across the wider region, poverty and hunger are rampant. The climate emergency, the global cost of living crisis, and soaring levels of debt are taking a terrible toll.
“In some places, humanitarian aid is all that is keeping famine at bay. The power struggle in Sudan is not only putting that country’s future at risk. It is lighting a fuse that could detonate across borders, causing immense suffering for years, and setting development back for decades”.
Guterres said the United Nations has reconfigured its presence to protect its personnel and their families while staying and delivering support to the Sudanese people. “The UN’s leadership in Sudan, headed by my Special Representative, Volker Perthes, remains in the country.
“We are also establishing a hub in Port Sudan to enable us to continue to work with our partners in support of peace, to alleviate humanitarian suffering. One-third of Sudan’s people needed humanitarian aid even before the recent crisis; that number can only have risen sharply after the destruction of the past ten days”.
He reiterated that United Nations stands with the African Union, the Inter-governmental Authority on Development and its regional and international partners. “Above all, we stand with the Sudanese people, and their hopes and demands for peace, the restoration of civilian rule, and the democratic transition”.