UN sending envoy as Sudan’s army and rival announce latest truce extension
- UN sends humanitarian chief as Sudan’s army and its rival paramilitary said they will extend a ceasefire a further 72 hours
- More than 500 people have been killed in the conflict that erupted on April 15, and threatens to thrust Sudan into a raging civil war
The top United Nations humanitarian official is heading to the Sudan region due to the “rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis” in the conflict-racked country, the UN chief said.
Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ announcement on Sunday came shortly after rival Sudanese forces announced the extension of a truce they have largely violated, as warplanes roared overhead and fighting continued in the capital Khartoum.
The fighting pits the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a heavily armed paramilitary group.
Fierce fighting broke out again on Monday between Sudan’s army and paramilitaries despite the formal extension of a truce, after the United Nations warned the humanitarian situation reached “breaking point”.
More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people have fled since battles erupted on April 15.
“The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres, said in a statement.
He said the UN chief was “immediately” sending Martin Griffiths, his emergency relief coordinator, to the area “in light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan”.