In the wake of yet another round of violence in Sudan’s Gezira, the senior United Nations (UN) political affairs official echoed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who a fortnight ago said the east African country was “a nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement”.
Addressing the Security Council (SC) this week, Rosemary DiCarlo, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, called the latest surge in violence “especially brutal”. The violence was apparently launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Dagalo “Hemedti” and was said by non-government organisations (NGOs) in Sudan to be among the most severe of the to date 19 month-long war.
Civilians have borne the brunt of the offensives with countless lives lost, homes destroyed and communities displaced. Reports indicate violations of human rights, including sexual violence against women and girls the UNSC heard.
DiCarlo was not only condemnatory of the RSF – she called air strikes by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) “indiscriminate” especially in Khartoum and El Fasher, the North Darfur city under siege by the RSF and presently home to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) all suffering shortages of food, medical supplies and water.
“Both warring parties bear responsibility for this violence,” she told the UNSC, adding the RSF and SAF were continuing to escalate military operations as the rain season nears its finish. New fighters are being recruited and attacks intensified “fuelled by considerable external support and a steady flow of arms”.
“To put in bluntly, certain purported allies of the parties are enabling the slaughter in Sudan. This is unconscionable, it is illegal and it must end.
“It is long past time for the warring parties to come to the negotiating table,” she said pointing out “the only path out of this conflict is a negotiated solution”.
