United Nations demands cessation of armed clashes in Sudan | News

The Secretary General of the United Nations Organization, António Guterres, demanded this Wednesday that the military groups facing each other in Sudan stop the hostilities and allow the arrival of humanitarian aid, a pronouncement that coincided with the arrival in that African country of the person in charge of Affairs Humanitarians within the UN, Martin Griffiths.

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During a press conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he is making an official visit, Guterres urged the Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group to put an end to the clashes that began on April 15.

He insisted that the Sudanese are facing a humanitarian catastrophe, with "hospitals destroyed, humanitarian warehouses looted, millions facing food insecurity", for which he demanded that the armed forces and the RSF allow safe and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid. .

He said that "the fighting has to stop now, before more people are killed and the conflict explodes into an all-out war that could affect the region for years to come." He stressed that "civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and aid workers and aid equipment must be respected."

He warned that the violence could spread to neighboring countries, some of which may see their political transition processes affected, such as Chad, or their economic recovery due to the massive arrival of thousands of people displaced by the fighting, he said.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (Acnur), more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee the country and the number of those who would seek protection in other nations may rise to 800,000.

This Wednesday the United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Sudan. Through his account on the social network Twitter, the official announced from Port Sudan, on the shores of the Red Sea (east), that he spoke by phone with the commanders of the Army and the RSF, generals Abdelfatá al Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (aka Hemedti), respectively.

He added that he also held dialogues in this way with civil society leaders and that Guterres's special envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, participated in the contacts.

Media outlets indicate that the fighting continues despite the fact that the Army and the RSF agreed to a truce for seven days, as announced by the Government of South Sudan, which mediated between the two.

Until this Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health, at least 550 people had died and 4,926 were injured. It is feared that the figures are much higher.