On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded for a three-day truce in Sudan for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. This would enable stranded people to flee to safety and get medical care, food, and other necessities.
Guterres did not provide a time frame for the truce to begin. Friday marks the beginning of Sudan’s three-day vacation.
Humanitarian activities, he added, have become “virtually impossible” since combat broke out between the Sudanese army and paramilitary groups on Saturday, and warehouses, trucks, and other humanitarian assets have been assaulted, plundered, and confiscated.
Clashes on Saturday killed three employees of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, and wounded two others.
“Humanitarian workers and assets must stop being targeted,” Guterres told reporters. As a United Nations employee, “I am also extremely worried about the situation of United Nations personnel, many of whom are trapped in their homes in areas of active conflict.”
Before the violence broke out, the UN estimated that approximately 16 million people throughout the country, or one-third of the population, were in need of humanitarian help. The UN now employs about 4,000 people in Sudan, 800 of whom are foreign workers.
After a virtual meeting with the leaders of the African Union, the Arab League, the regional African bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and other relevant organizations, Guterres addressed the media.
“There was a strong consensus in condemning the ongoing fighting in Sudan and calling for a cessation of hostilities,” Guterres said.
He said that a three-day Eid ceasefire would pave the way for a permanent halt to hostilities.
“Serious dialogue allowing for the successful transition, beginning with the appointment of a civilian government, must follow the cessation of hostilities,” Guterres said. “We need to put an end to this fighting right now.”
