End “senseless, brutal war”, USA official urges Sudan parties
January 2, 2024 (WASHINGTON) – A top US official said his country’s fully supports the people of Sudan, but called for an end to the “senseless and brutal” war.
In a statement issued as Sudan marked its 68th independence anniversary on Monday, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed regret for the continued suffering of the Sudanese people in the senseless war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
He said the ongoing war has generated “war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, grave food insecurity, widespread displacement, and a collapsing healthcare system”.
It mentions deepening divisions in Sudan “along ethnic, tribal, and regional lines”.
“The RSF and SAF must end this brutal war and return governance to civilians, as the Sudanese people have long demanded,” partly reads Blinken’s statement.
According to the US official, Sudan welcomed a political process and joined the Sudanese people in hoping it could restore their democratic transition a year ago.
“Now, Sudan suffers from one of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises because of the warring parties’ decisions,” he observed.
The US Secretary of State also highlighted what he described as the infrastructural and economic damage caused by the war, both of which “are in ruins”.
His statement, for instance, noted specifically that “many women and girls have been raped or live in terror of sexual violence amid lawlessness and impunity.”
“The United States continues to stand with the people of Sudan and will work to end the conflict so that in the coming year, the Sudanese people can begin to realise the peace, security, and prosperity they deserve,” stressed Blinken.
More than 7.2 million people have reportedly been displaced inside and outside Sudan since fighting broke out between the SAF and the RSF on 15 April 2023.
(ST)