UN official decries exacerbation of conflict in Sudan
September 20, 2023 (JUBA) – The head of the United Nation in South Sudan has expressed concerns that the war in Sudan is worsening conflicts in South Sudan.
Addressing members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Nicholas Haysom said the impact of the conflict in Sudan has several dimensions on the region.
“The impact of the crisis in Sudan-along political, economic, humanitarian and security dimensions, continues to loom. The situation has exacerbated existing conflict drivers in South Sudan, such as competition over limited resources,” he said.
Haysom said South Sudan needs additional funds from donors to tackle effects of the crisis in Sudan.
“I also call for the unity government to allocate national budget funding to meet its own humanitarian and public service needs and to restart support for the onward transportation of people who have crossed into South Sudan”, he explained.
Observers have argued that the situation in Sudan would have worsened if neighbouring nations had involved themselves on either side of the ongoing war.
This view was shared by Haysom who said that an overall squeeze in humanitarian funding continues, and reductions in anticipated food distribution have already sparked tensions and protests in the internally displaced person camp in Bentiu.
South Sudan is also grappling with a precarious peace deal, with the majority of the key provisions pending implementation while it is left with only 15 months to general elections scheduled to end the transitional period.
The country anticipates holding its first elections in December 2024. However, the key institutions and legal frameworks needed for a credible election are lacking.
Since the conflict erupted in mid-April, more than 5.2 million people have had to flee their homes in Sudan, including over 4.1 million people who have been displaced inside the country and over 1 million refugees, asylum seekers, and returnees have crossed borders in search of safety to the Central African Republic (CAR).
South Sudan is one of the key countries in the region whose leaders have been showing interest in the resolution of the conflict in Sudan.
Analysts attribute the cause of seriousness with which President Salva Kiir and members of his administration pursue the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Sudan to the role it had played in the mediation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement in which Sudan and Uganda were the guarantors of the deal.
Others, however, cite fears its economy could be affected by the conflict since its economy is based on oil, which is exported through Sudan to Port Sudan.
There are fears that continuation of conflict in Sudan, which has a refinery, could seriously interfere with oil shipments and force economic collapse in South Sudan.
(ST)