Member countries call for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” and support for “efforts for lasting peace”
MADRID, April 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations Security Council has expressed this Saturday its “deep concern” about the possibility of an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against El Fasher, the capital of the Sudanese region of North Darfur, and has called to the parties “to immediately stop the military buildup.”
This call comes amid reports of “an imminent offensive” by the RSF and its allied militias against the city, with the risk that this would pose to the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced people currently taking refuge there.
Thus, the members of the Security Council have urged the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) as well as the RSF to “end the buildup of military forces” and take “measures to de-escalate the situation”, fulfilling their obligations. under International Humanitarian Law.
The Council has not only reiterated “its call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a sustainable ceasefire”, but has also encouraged “all Member States to refrain from external interference that seeks to foment conflict and instability”, inviting them “to support efforts for lasting peace.
The day before, the secretary general of the organization, António Guterres, already expressed his alarm at the clashes recorded during the last two weeks between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the surroundings of El Fasher, warning that an attack on the city by the latter would have “devastating consequences” for the civilian population.
The war in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023 due to strong disagreements regarding the integration process of the paramilitary group – now declared a terrorist organization – within the Armed Forces, a situation that caused the derailment of the transition opened in 2019 after the overthrow of the Omar Hasan al Bashir regime. In this context, the RSF has been launching attacks against Army positions around El Fasher for more than two weeks.
War broke out in Sudan a year ago between the Sudanese army and the RSF paramilitaries, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis.
Al-Fashir is the last major city in the vast western region of Darfur that is not under RSF control. The RSF and its allies devastated four other Darfur state capitals last year and were blamed for a campaign of ethnically motivated killings against non-Arab groups and other abuses in western Darfur.
Sudan: UN Security Council members call on the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to stop the build-up of military forces in El Fasher, North Darfur, and take steps to de-escalate the situation
