Families visit a UNICEF-supported clinic in a village in western Omdurman, Sudan. UN Security Council: Sudan is approaching its thousandth day of war Peace and Security
As the war in Sudan approaches its thousandth day, the country’s civilian population continues to suffer from its worsening consequences. Representatives of UN structures warned about this when speaking at a meeting of the Security Council.
Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Khaled Khiari said the conflict had escalated again since his Department’s last briefing to the UN Security Council in October.According to him, in the Kordofan region, the Rapid Reaction Force (RFF) has advanced to new territories. In particular, they have seized an oil field and a processing station for South Sudanese oil, which is pumped to Port Sudan for further export. The towns of Kadugli and Dilling are “under increasing siege.”
“These developments reflect the increasingly complex nature of the conflict and its expanding regional dimension. If action is not taken, Sudan’s neighbors could become embroiled in a regional conflict,” he stressed. Khiari.
Casualties among civilians and peacekeepers
A particularly alarming trend the speaker identified was the “increasing use by both sides of indiscriminate drone strikes, causing significant civilian casualties.” In particular, the December 4 attacks in Southern Kordofan The kindergarten and hospital where the victims of the initial attack were taken resulted in the death of more than 100 people, including 63 children.
On the thirteenth of December, drones struck a UN logistics base in Kadugli, as a result of which six members of the Bangladeshi peacekeeping contingent were killed and nine were injured. Due to ongoing threats, all personnel of the UN Mission were evacuated from Kadugli.
60~p>Khiari also noted that the increasing number of cases of detention of civilians accusation of cooperation with one of the parties to the conflict. In November, the UN Human Rights Office recorded 93 such arrests in the Kordofan region.
De-escalation of violence
The UN representative emphasized that the ongoing supply of weapons remains a key factor in the conflict. At the same time, the parties “remain unprepared for compromise or de-escalation.” income from oil, they have not yet been able to do the same to protect the population,” Khiari noted. Conflict in Sudan: UN documents all violations to ensure justice is served
Preventing further deterioration of the situation requires prompt and coordinated work, the UN representative stressed. The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy Ramtan Lamamra “is in contact with both sides of the conflict, encouraging them to discuss concrete and realistic measures to de-escalate violence and protect civilians.”
Humanitarian crisis in Kordofan
The representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Eden Wosornu, speaking on behalf of the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, briefed the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. until December 16, more than 100 civilians were killed as a result of drone strikes. An inter-agency convoy led by the Sudan Humanitarian Coordinator, which was scheduled to arrive in Kadugli on December 15, was unable to do so due to the increasingly unstable and unpredictable situation.
In Northern Kordofan, the hit on a World Food Program truck on December 5, which left the driver seriously injured, was further evidence of the enormous risks facing aid workers. among civilians after the capture of Höglig.”
Continuing UN efforts
“Despite the difficulties, humanitarian operations continue, with some 16.8 million people having received some form of support since January. The humanitarian aid system is under unprecedented pressure and is increasingly being targeted for attacks,” Vosornu said, calling for urgent action. The Security Council, she said, “must send a strong, unequivocal signal that attacks against civilians, sexual violence and other gross violations of international humanitarian law will not be tolerated.” The UN representative also stressed that humanitarian workers must be able to work in safe conditions and without obstacles.
“With another grim milestone approaching in this nightmare war, new efforts are needed more than ever to end the fighting, stop the supply of weapons fueling the conflict, and bring the parties closer to an inclusive and sustainable nation the ceasefire that is so desperately needed,” she concluded her speech.