WASHINGTON, April 26 — United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Security Council members and other UN member states as well as regional organisations with influence to press the parties to the conflict in Sudan to de-escalate tensions and “return to the negotiating table” immediately.
Addressing the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Guterres said “the parties to the conflict must respect the 72-hour cease-fire brokered by the United States and come together to establish a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
He said it is “incumbent” on the leaders of Sudan to “put the interests of their people front and centre.”
“This conflict will not, and must not, be resolved on the battlefield — with the bodies of Sudan’s people.
“The Sudanese people have made their wishes very clear. They want peace and the restoration of civilian rule through the transition to democracy,” he was reported as saying by Anadolu.
Guterres said the past 10 days of violence and chaos have been “heartbreaking,” adding a “prolonged, full-scale war is unbearable to contemplate.”
Noting that Sudan borders seven countries, all of which have seen conflicts and civil unrest, he said “it is a gateway to the Sahel, where insecurity and political instability are making an already catastrophic humanitarian situation even worse.”
“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.
He said the “fighting must stop immediately,” stressing the need for “an all-out effort for peace.”
“I call on the parties to the conflict, on Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo ‘Hemedti,’ and the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to silence the guns.”
In the wake of the conflict that broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15, the US announced Monday that the warring parties have agreed to observe a three-day cease-fire to halt escalating violence in the North African nation.
As of Tuesday morning, at least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 have been injured in Sudan.
