António Guterres reiterated this Tuesday his call on the parties to the conflict in Sudan to cease the fighting and return to the negotiating table.
“The fighting must stop immediately. We need a total effort for peace. I appeal to the parties to the conflict, to Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti”, and to the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces, to silence the guns”, declared the Secretary General in he Security Council.
The head of the UN has made a count of victims in the country after 10 days of conflicts, in which at least 400 people have diedincluding four members of the United Nations system, and more than 3,700 people have been injured. Besides, thousands of people have fled their homes.
“The reports from Khartoum paint a devastating picture. People are trapped in their homes, terrified, with less and less food, water, medicine and fuel. Health services are on the verge of collapse and, according to the World Health OrganizationSeveral hospitals are being used by armed groups,” Guterres explained.
There are reports of armed clashes across the country, and thousands of people from Blue Nile and North Kordofan states, and throughout Darfur have fled their homes. “Refugees and returnees have arrived in Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, and I thank the governments of these countries for their support,” added the General secretary.
The situation may worsen throughout the region
António Guterres has expressed his concern about a possible domino effectin which the situation in Sudan could spread to the seven neighboring countries, all of them involved in conflicts or with serious civil unrest in the last decade.
For the head of the UN, insecurity and political instability are further worsening an already grim humanitarian situation throughout the Sahel.
“Throughout the region, poverty and hunger are rampant. The climate emergency, the cost of living and high levels of debt are taking a terrible toll. In some places, humanitarian aid is the only thing keeping famine at bay,” he declared.
Peace and restoration of civil government
The Secretary General has denounced that the power struggle in the country is putting the future of the country is in jeopardy and that its leaders are the ones who must put the interests of their people first.
“This conflict will not be resolved, nor should it be resolved, on the battlefield, with the corpses of the children, women and men of Sudan. The Sudanese people have made their wishes very clear. They want the peace and the restoration of civilian rule through the transition to democracy”.
Therefore, it urges the parties to the conflict to respect the 72 hour ceasefire negotiated by the United States and meet to establish a permanent cessation of hostilities.
Likewise, António Guterres has asked all the members of the Security Council, other States and regional organizations to press to reduce tensions and return to the negotiating table, and has thanked the support of those local and international partners that offer their support to achieve peace in the country.
Commitment to the Sudanese
Finally, the head of the UN explained how the presence has changed to protect the staff of the Organization and their families, while providing support to the Sudanese people.
“We are establishing a center in Port Sudan that allows us to continue working with our partners in support of peace and to alleviate humanitarian suffering. A third of the country’s population needed humanitarian aid even before the recent crisis; that number can only have risen dramatically following the destruction of the last ten days,” he stated.
“We stand with the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and our regional and international partners. Above all, we stand with the Sudanese people and their hopes and demands for peace, restoration of civilian rule, and democratic transition,” he concluded.
A Khartoum residential building is damaged after being hit by a missile.
Attacks on densely populated areas
Following the Secretary General’s remarks, the UN special representative in Sudan explained in more detail the latest events in the country and described the 72-hour ceasefire negotiated by the United States as a “positive step”.
“This temporary ceasefire seems to hold so far in some parts; however, reports of sporadic shootings, as well as relocation of troops. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.”
Volker Perthes has also highlighted the civil society mobilization to provide basic health care, evacuate civilians from the most affected areas to welcome them into their homes. “In the midst of the violence, ordinary Sudanese continue to show the power of solidarity and compassion.”
On the other hand, the special representative has denounced that both parties in the conflict have indiscriminately attacked densely populated areas, hospitals, shops and civilian cars that transported the sick, wounded and elderly.
Miscalculation
“There are still no clear signs that either is willing to negotiate seriously, which suggests that both think it is possible to achieve a military victory over the other. This is a miscalculation.”
Perthes anticipates that as the fighting continues, law and order will break down further across the country, and command and control will dissipate. Sudan could become increasingly fragmented, which would have a devastating impact on the region. “And even if one side wins, Sudan will lose.”
In this sense, the special representative denounces that the mobilization of some tribes and some armed movements in Darfur that are taking sides are dangerous and could attract neighboring countries of Sudan. “I renew my appeal to all communities to maintain their neutrality and refrain from taking sides”, he declared.
Finally, the special representative has explained that a close collaboration with various Sudanese national personalitiesincluding former Prime Minister Hamdok, business leaders, political parties and civil society, who are mobilizing against the war and urging support for a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to arrive.
