The United Nations’ chief urged the international community to step up pressure to end fighting in war-ravaged Sudan, warning of possible regional ripple-effects as a tenuous two-day old cease-fire is repeatedly being tested.
(Bloomberg) — The United Nations’ chief urged the international community to step up pressure to end fighting in war-ravaged Sudan, warning of possible regional ripple-effects as a tenuous two-day old cease-fire is repeatedly being tested.
The call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres marked one of the most direct warnings yet since fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began April 15. The violence, which has left at least 427 dead and 3,700 injured, threatens to completely derail hopes for stability and a power-sharing government that was supposed to lead the nation of about 45 million to democratic elections after a 2021 coup. The fighting has only served to intensify the misery endured by Sudanese since that coup, amplifying shortages in everything from food to fuel, water to medicine.
“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. “I urge all council members and other member states and regional organizations with influence to press them to de-escalate tensions and return to the negotiating table immediately.”
‘Trading Blame’
The military, headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have traded accusations that the other side has breached the cease-fire agreed to on Monday.
The two sides also blamed each other for jail breaks and fleeing prisoners including officials who served under former dictator Omar al-Bashir, as well as the ousted leader himself. The army, in a statement, said Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, had been moved from a Khartoum jail to the Aliaa Hospital in Omdurman. Bashir had been held in the prison in the capital since 2019.
International efforts to end the crisis have intensified, though diplomats have yet to convince either Burhan or the RSF head to agree to talks, said two senior envoys who declined to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak to the media. Saudi Arabia and the US have joined forces alongside the UN and other countries to try to broker talks between the two generals, while Khalid Omer, a former cabinet minister and chief spokesman for the Forces of Freedom and Change — a coalition of pro-democracy groups — is leading mediation efforts in Sudan, they said.
Foreign governments have looked to the African Union to help lead efforts to end the crisis as they may be able to bring the pressure of countries in the region to bear on the two men. The continental body brought forward to Wednesday a briefing to discuss the situation in Sudan that had been scheduled for April 28.
The UN’s representative in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said that while the truce appeared to be holding in some locations, there is continued fighting and movement of troops, with clashes occurring around the presidential palace, the international airport and military bases in Khartoum. There are also reports of looting and attempted sexual assaults, and signs that ethnic militias are arming themselves to join the fight, he told the Security Council on Tuesday.
The violence is expected to escalate in the coming 48 hours, according to an April 25 UN internal security assessment seen by Bloomberg. The Sudanese Armed Forces “is highly likely to increase the use of remaining air assets to target positions, bases and supply lines for the RSF,” it said.
The regional fallout from the conflict was starting to be evident.
Thousands of people have fled across the western border with Chad and the northern border with neighboring Egypt, where the authorities have struggled to cope. Videos posted online showed scores of Sudanese people sprawled on the floor on mats waiting to be processed by officials. A bus ticket that cost $60-$70 a week ago has increased ten-fold, said Sherine Tadros, deputy director of advocacy at London-based human-rights group Amnesty International.
“At the border the lines of buses are long, processing is so slow and there is nowhere to wait,” she said on Twitter. “Many women, children, elderly sitting on the cement floor for days.”
The World Health Organization said that one of the sides in the conflict has occupied the National Public Health Laboratory, and technicians there no longer have access and are unable to manage the biological and chemical materials stored there for medical purposes. In addition, depleting stocks of blood at the facility are at risk of spoiling due to a power outage.
A spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency said there was no detailed information available yet about the situation on the Egyptian border.
(Recasts and updates with details on Bashir, comment from WHO)
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