UN Chief Guterres urges Ramadan ceasefire in war-ravaged Sudan
UNSecretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged the warring parties in Sudan to agree to halt hostilities during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a move the Security Councilis also considering.
“This cessation of hostilities must lead to a definitive silencing of the guns across the country and set out a firm path towards lasting peace for the Sudanese people,” Guterres told the 15-member Security Council.
“There is now a serious risk that the conflict could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.”
The Security Council is negotiating a British-drafted resolution that would also call for a truce for Ramadan, which begins early next week, in the nearly year-long war between the SudanArmed Forces (Saf and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF.
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British Deputy UNAmbassador James Kariuki said they hoped to put the draft text to a vote on Friday. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Russia, Britain, China or France to be adopted.
The United States saysthe warring parties have committed war crimesand the RSF and allied militias have also committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. The UNsays nearly 25 million people – half Sudan’s population – need aid, some 8 million have fled their homes andhunger is rising.
“Hunger is stalking Sudan. Some 18 million people are acutely food insecure. This is the highest number ever recorded during a harvest season, yet numbers are expected to surge even higher in the coming months,” Guterres said.
“We are already receiving reports of children dying from malnutrition.”
Between 10,000 and 15,000 people werekilled in one cityalone in Sudan’s West Darfur region last year in ethnic violence by the RSF and allied Arab militia, according to a UN sanctions monitors report seen by Reuters in January.
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“The human rights situation continues to spiral out of control throughout Sudan,” Guterres said.
Since war erupted on April 15, 2023, the council has only issued three press statements condemning the violence and expressing concern. It then echoed that language in a resolution in December that shut down a UNpolitical mission – following a request from Sudan’s acting Foreign Affairs minister.