UN urges Sudan’s warring parties to halt military buildup in El Fasher
April 28, 2024 (NEW YORK) – The United Nations Security Council members has expressed concerns over the growing tensions and military operations around El Fasher, North Darfur in Sudan, amid reports of an imminent offensive by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militia against the city.
Such military operations around the city, the Security Council said, could threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons currently sheltering there.
As such, the UN Security Council members on Saturday called on the warring parties in Sudan to immediately halt the military build-up and take steps to de-escalate the situation in El Fasher.
At least 43 people, among them women and children, have been killed in fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF – backed by their respective militia – since 14 April, when the RSF began its push into El Fasher, the UN said.
They called on SAF and the RSF to end the build-up of military forces, take steps to de-escalate the situation and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Members of the Council members, in a statement issued on April 27, repeated calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a sustainable ceasefire.
They urged all member states to refrain from external interference which seeks to foment conflict and instability and instead to support efforts for a durable peace, and reminded all parties to the conflict and member states to adhere to their obligations to comply with the arms embargo measures as stipulated in paragraphs 7 and 8 of resolution 1556 (2004) and reiterated in the resolution 2676 (2023).
The UN said civilians trapped in the city, the only one in Darfur still in the hands of the SAF, are afraid of being killed should they attempt to flee. The dire situation is compounded by a severe shortage of essential supplies as deliveries of commercial goods and humanitarian aid have been heavily constrained by the fighting and access challenges through RSF-controlled territory.
Sudan has been in conflict since fighting erupted between SAF and paramilitary RSF, in mid-April 2023. More than 14,000 people have been killed and thousands more wounded, amid reports of abhorrent sexual and gender-based violence.
According to aid agencies, the war has also displaced over 6 million civilians within Sudan and a further 1.8 million across its borders, against a backdrop of a massive crisis that has left 25 million people in need of humanitarian aid and protection.
(ST)