UN warns Sudan conflict has 'far-reaching consequences that extend well beyond its borders'

HAMILTON, Canada

A senior UN official on Friday warned that the ongoing conflict in Sudan is escalating at an alarming rate, endangering civilians and destabilizing the wider region.

"For too long, the conflict in Sudan has gravely imperiled the lives of Sudanese civilians," said Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, assistant secretary-general for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, at a UN Security Council session.

She noted that fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shows no signs of stopping and that both sides are conducting "increased and often indiscriminate aerial assaults" that target civilians and critical infrastructure, including hospitals.

Pobee warned that the "warring parties appear unrelenting in their resolve to pursue military objectives" and emphasized that "the fighting shows no signs of abating."

She also raised concerns over the expansion of the conflict into previously stable areas of Sudan through the "growing use of advanced weaponry, including long-range drones."

Pobee reported that the "aerial attacks in populated areas have already caused significant civilian casualties and mass displacement," and this trend is expected to worsen during the rainy season.

"The conflict in Sudan is having far-reaching consequences that extend well beyond its borders," she said, citing "violent clashes at the tri-border zone of Sudan, Libya, and Egypt, involving the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, and forces affiliated with the Libyan National Army."

Pobee warned that the situation is "a serious escalation," adding: "We cannot afford further regional instability and spillover conflict."

"As the situation on the ground in the Sudan further deteriorates, grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law continue.

"We are horrified by widespread sexual violence, including against children, and attacks on humanitarian workers," she said.

She said the UN documented "a tripling of arbitrary killings of civilians between February and April," mainly from "summary executions in Khartoum, reportedly carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces and its allies."

Pobee also raised alarm over El Fasher, saying it "continues to be besieged by the Rapid Support Forces."

Calling for action, she said: "Too many lives have been lost, too much trauma has been inflicted… the Council must lead the way in resolving the conflict in Sudan."

Since May 10, 2024, fierce clashes have erupted between Sudanese army forces and the RSF in El-Fasher, despite international warnings about the fighting in the city, a crucial hub for humanitarian operations across the five Darfur states.

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 victims and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.