UN chief appeals to rival Sudan leaders to end violence
As the battle escalates, Antonio Guterres calls on army leaders and paramilitaries to restore calm and engage in dialogue.
The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has strongly condemned the outbreak of violence in Sudan and called on the leaders of the warring factions to immediately cease hostilities and engage in dialogue.
Guterres made the remarks on Monday, the third day of fighting between the Sudanese army and the powerful paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
About 100 civilians have been killed so far, doctors say, but the death toll is feared to be higher. Both sides have claimed advances in strategic areas, but there was no information on the number of fighters killed.
The fighting between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has forced residents to stay in their homes as they face power outages and water shortages. Hospitals have been hit by shelling and there are reports of looting.
In his opening address at the Forum on Financing for Development in New York on Monday, Guterres said he had spoken to the two rival leaders and urged them to restore calm — even though both al-Burhan and Dagalo have expressed no desire to to have conversations.
“The situation has already resulted in appalling loss of life, including many civilians,” the UN Secretary-General said. “Any further escalation could be devastating for the country and the region.”
“I urge anyone with influence on the situation to use it for peace, to support efforts to end violence, restore order and return to the path of transition,” Guterres said.
Violence has again interrupted Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy in the wake of the 2019 ousting of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.
“The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic,” Guterres said, reaffirming the UN’s “full support” for the efforts of the people of the country “to restore the transition to democracy and a peaceful to build a secure future”.
The UN Security Council was due to hold a closed-door meeting later on Monday to discuss the situation in Sudan.
Meanwhile, Alyona Synenko of the International Committee of the Red Cross said the fighting overwhelmed hospitals and the situation for civilians was getting “worse and worse”.
“The priority right now is to get access for health workers, such as first responders, to provide urgent care to the injured,” Synenko told Al Jazeera.
She added that fighting was taking place near densely populated civilian areas and infrastructure.
“If this vital infrastructure is damaged, the consequences for this urban population will be very significant,” Synenko said.