Guterres calls on Dagalo to order an end to the attacks and Borrell threatens with “additional sanctions”
September 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the European Union (EU) on Sunday condemned the offensive launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the capital of the Sudanese state of North Darfur, El Fasher, which has been under siege for months as part of the war that broke out in April 2023 between the group and the Sudanese Army.
Guterres called on RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias ‘Hemedti’, to “act responsibly and immediately order a halt to the attacks.” “It is inconceivable that the parties to the conflict have repeatedly ignored calls for a cessation of hostilities,” said UN Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
“Any further escalation will also threaten to spread the conflict along inter-communal lines throughout Darfur,” he warned, adding that “a ceasefire is not only necessary, but imperative, both in El Fasher and in the other conflict zones in Sudan.”
He recalled that “the humanitarian situation in this area is already catastrophic, with thousands of people in acute need” and pointed out that “the parties to the conflict have clear obligations to protect civilians, according to International Humanitarian Law.”
Guterres also noted that his special envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, “continues his efforts to achieve peace” and insisted that he “remains prepared to support genuine efforts to stop violence and allow progress towards peace.”
“Humanitarian organisations are also prepared to rapidly increase the delivery of aid to El Fasher and other areas in need in Sudan,” he said, amid the growing humanitarian crisis in the African country due to hostilities between the army and the RSF.
“POINT OF NO RETURN”
For his part, the High Representative of the EU for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the “dramatic escalation” of the fighting, which he has blamed on the RSF, according to a statement published by his office.
“The consequences will reach a point of no return for thousands of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of both sides in the conflict, particularly those trapped in Zamzam camp, the largest camp for internally displaced persons in Sudan,” he warned.
In this regard, he reminded the parties of “their obligations” reflected in UN Security Council resolution 2736, which called on the RSF to end the siege in El Fasher, and insisted that the parties “must adhere to international humanitarian law by protecting civilians, granting unrestricted humanitarian access and allowing civilians to enter and leave Zamzam camp.”
He therefore called on Hemedti and the head of the army and president of the Sovereign Transitional Council, Abdelfatá al Burhan, to “meet at the negotiating table to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.” “We also call on those who fuel the war, particularly at the regional and international level, to stop their support in this context,” he said.
“The EU will not witness another genocide and will continue to work with international accountability mechanisms to hold those responsible accountable for the serious human rights violations they have committed and continue to commit,” Borrell said, adding that the bloc is open to considering “additional sanctions, including against those in leadership positions.”
Sudan is in the throes of a civil war following hostilities that broke out in April 2023 amid heightened tensions over the integration of the RSF paramilitaries into the armed forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civilian government and revive the open transition following the 2019 overthrow of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, damaged by the coup d’état of October 2021, in which the Prime Minister of Unity, Abdallah Hamdok, was overthrown.
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