The United Nations special envoy to Sudan has announced he is stepping down as he warns the ongoing conflict erupting into war.
Sudan’s army (SAF) – led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan – and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting over supremacy since April this year.
The conflict has triggered a humanitarian crisis with more than one million people fleeing ethnic and sexual violence.
Sudan has declared the UN envoy Volker Perthes unwelcome after the disagreements between the rival factions.
Perthes told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, that he is leaving his post less than three years after taking the job.
“I am grateful to the Secretary-General for that opportunity and for his confidence in me, but I have asked him to relieve me of this duty,” he said.
“What started as a conflict between two military formations could be morphing into a full-blown civil war.”
The war in Sudan began four years after a popular uprising ousted President Omar al-Bashir.
Tensions between the army and RSF, which jointly staged a coup in 2021, erupted into fighting over a plan to integrate their forces as part of a transition to civilian rule.
All efforts to resolve the crisis hasn’t succeeded yet. For Perthes there was “little doubt who is responsible for what” in the conflict.
“Often indiscriminate aerial bombing is conducted by those who have an airforce, which is the SAF. Most of the sexual violence, lootings and killings happen in areas controlled by the RSF and are conducted or tolerated by the RSF and their allies,” he said.
He said both sides were arbitrarily arresting, detaining, and “even torturing civilians” and there were reports of extrajudicial killings.
Sudan summons UN envoy for supporting anti-military protests
Source: Africafeeds.com
