UN Secretary-General calls for immediate cessation of armed conflict in Sudan

International Desk: PNN

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an immediate halt to the ongoing brutal armed conflict in Sudan, which, according to UN data, has created the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis. Guterres made this appeal on Friday night.

Earlier, on Monday, Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris submitted a peace proposal to the UN Security Council, instructing the country’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to disarm. However, the RSF dismissed the proposal as “more of a dream than reality.”

The conflict began in April 2023, when the Sudanese army and RSF clashed over power. Since then, 9.6 million people have become internally displaced, and 4.3 million have sought refuge in neighboring countries. Currently, 30.4 million people in Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance.

UN Under-Secretary-General Mohamed Khaled Khiari informed the Security Council that fears of heightened violence during the dry season have proven accurate. He stated, “Every day, horrifying scenes of violence and destruction are observed. Ordinary people are suffering immensely, and there seems to be no end in sight.”

In recent weeks, the conflict has shifted to Sudan’s Kordofan region. On December 8, the RSF seized the strategic Heglig oil field. South Sudanese forces crossed the border to protect this infrastructure. Since December 24, the RSF has been conducting attacks in North Darfur to establish full control, potentially blocking the last escape route for civilians to Chad.

Reports from local hospitals and authorities indicate that over 200 people, including children and women, have been killed in RSF attacks in North Darfur. On Friday, drone strikes killed two Chadian soldiers as the conflict spread. Military intelligence sources in Chad confirmed that the drone was launched from Sudan, though it remains unclear whether it was operated by the army or the RSF.

Despite the intensity of the conflict, the UN has made rare progress. On Friday, the first humanitarian assessment mission reached El-Fashir. Humanitarian coordinator Denis Brown stated, “Months of intense fighting, blockades, and widespread violations against civilians and aid workers have forced thousands to flee El-Fashir and surrounding areas.”

A recent report by Yale University documented evidence of planned mass killings by the RSF in El-Fashir. Satellite imagery showed burned bodies and mass graves.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the war as “horrific” and “cruel,” warning that revealing the true scale of the conflict would shock the world.

The peace plan proposed by Prime Minister Idris calls for an immediate ceasefire under UN supervision and the full withdrawal of RSF from 40% of the territory it currently controls. However, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemetti” dismissed the proposal as more imaginative than politically realistic.

When Prime Minister Idris returned to Port Sudan on Friday, he clarified that international peacekeeping forces are unacceptable due to Sudan’s experience.