NEW YORK, United States
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the Security Council on Monday for its support to help protect civilians in war-torn Sudan, but said conditions are not right for deployment of a U.N. force.
"The people of Sudan
are living through a nightmare of violence — with thousands of civilians
killed, and countless others facing unspeakable atrocities, including
widespread rape and sexual assaults," Guterres told the 15-member council.
War
erupted in mid-April 2023 from a power struggle between the Sudanese army and
the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian
rule and triggered the world's largest displacement crisis.
"Sudan
is, once again, rapidly becoming a nightmare of mass ethnic violence,"
Guterres said, referring to a conflict in Sudan's Darfur region about 20 years
ago that led to the International Criminal Court charging former Sudanese
leaders with genocide and crimes against humanity.
The
current war has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on
the RSF. The RSF killed at least 124 people in a village in El Gezira State on
Friday, activists said, in one of the conflict's deadliest incidents.
The
RSF has previously denied harming civilians in Sudan and attributed the
activity to rogue actors.
Guterres acknowledged calls by Sudanese and human-rights groups for
stepped-up measures to protect civilians, including the possible deployment of
some form of impartial force, saying they reflected "the gravity and
urgency of the situation."
"At
present, the conditions do not exist for the successful deployment of a United
Nations force to protect civilians in Sudan," he told the council, but
added he was ready to discuss other ways to reduce violence and protect
civilians.
"This
may require new approaches that are adapted to the challenging circumstances of
the conflict," Guterres said.
The
U.N. says nearly 25 million people - half of Sudan's population - need aid as
famine has taken hold in displacement camps and 11 million people have fled
their homes. Nearly three million of those people have left for other
countries.
"This
is not just a matter of insufficient funding. Millions are going hungry because
of access," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the
council.
Thomas-Greenfield said Washington was alarmed that instead of
facilitating aid, the Sudanese authorities "continue to undermine,
intimidate, and target humanitarian officials." She said they need to
expand and streamline humanitarian movements.
"They
also need to extend the authorization for the Adre border crossing, open
additional cross-border and crossline access routes, and facilitate airport
access for humanitarian purposes," Thomas-Greenfield added.
The
Sudanese army-backed government is committed to facilitate aid deliveries
across the country, including in areas controlled by the RSF, said Sudan's U.N.
Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed. He said 10 border crossings and
seven airports had been opened for aid deliveries.
A
three-month approval given by Sudanese authorities for the U.N. and aid groups
to use the Adre border crossing with Chad to reach Darfur is due to expire in
mid-November.
"There
are 30 trucks that went through the Adre border crossing loaded with advanced
weaponry and ammunition and this led to serious escalation in al-Fashir and in
other places," Mohamed said. "We noticed that thousands of
mercenaries from Africa and Sahel entered the country ... through Adre. The
border crossing Adre is really a threat to national security."
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council it was up
to the Sudanese government to decide on whether the Adre crossing would remain
open beyond mid-November and that it would be "inappropriate to put
pressure on" the government.
"We're
categorically opposed to the politicization of humanitarian assistance,"
he said. "We believe that any humanitarian assistance should be conducted
and delivered solely with the central authorities in the loop."
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