Sudanese have had enough of devastating conflict: UN
Sudan’s warring parties must commit to an immediate ceasefire, end atacks on civilians and ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian aid, say UN investigators
The Sudanese people have had enough of the devastating conflict raging inside the country, UN investigators said on Thursday as the fighting rolls on into a second year.
Sudan’s warring parties must commit to an immediate ceasefire, end attacks on civilians and ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian aid, the United Nations Independent International Fact-finding Mission for the Sudan insisted.
“It’s beyond time for this devastating war to stop,” said Mohammed Chande Othman, the mission’s chair.
“The Sudanese people have endured enough. The warring parties must find a path for peace and respect for human rights.”
Fighting in Sudan erupted on April 15 last year between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has killed thousands and sparked a humanitarian disaster.
In October, the UN Human Rights Council established a fact-finding mission to probe all alleged human rights and international humanitarian law violations in the conflict.
Othman, a former chief justice of Tanzania, said the Sudanese army and the paramilitaries had shown little regard for protecting civilians, and the mission was investigating reports of repeated attacks on non-combatants, schools and hospitals.
Attacks on aid convoys have also been reported, the mission said in a statement.
“Aid agencies are persevering even though there have been attacks and looting of humanitarian convoys, personnel and warehouses,” said Mona Rishmawi, one of the mission’s three investigators.
“We are also investigating the deliberate blocking of humanitarian assistance destined for civilians living in areas controlled by the opposite side,” she said.
The mission also raised concerns about poor harvests, soaring grain prices and the risk of a food catastrophe.
They called on the two sides to commit to a comprehensive peace process.
The mission will submit a comprehensive report to the Human Rights Council at its September-october session. More than 8.5 million people have fled their homes since the fighting broke out, with nearly 1.8 million having escaped across the country’s borders.
The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that thousands of people were still fleeing the country daily.
An international humanitarian conference for Sudan and its neighbours will be held in Paris on Monday’s anniversary.
Co-hosted by France, Germany and the European Union, it aims to address the shortfall in funding, with only six per cent of the estimated $2.7 billion needed to address the crisis having been raised so far.
Meanwhile, Russia has begun diesel exports to Sudan as Moscow seeks new markets for its refined products after an EU embargo, LSEG data shows.
Since the full EU embargo on Russian oil product imports was imposed in February 2023, diesel supplies have been diverted to Brazil, Turkey, countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East as well as ship-to-ship (STS) loadings.
LSEG data shows that two fuel tankers — Pavo Rock and Conga — delivered a total of about 70,000 metric tonnes of ultra-low sulphur diesel to Sudan after it was loaded in February at the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk.
The cargoes discharged at Port Sudan Al Khair Terminal on April 2 and April 5 respectively, shipping data shows.
Another vessel — the Marabella Sun — loaded in March at the Russian Baltic port of Vysotsk, is heading towards Port Sudan and should be discharged on April 17, LSEG data shows.
Sudan’s petroleum ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Sudan needs about 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) of diesel (about 6,000 tons per day) to meet local demand, one analyst said. The country imports 60,00070,000 metric tons of diesel a month, mainly from two Gulf countries.
Diesel arrivals in Sudan totalled about 116,000 metric tons in March, the LSEG data shows.