UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 The United Nations chief urged Sudan\u2019s warring parties on Thursday to halt hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, warning that the nearly year-long conflict threatens the country\u2019s unity and \u201ccould ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 appeal came ahead of an expected U.N. Security Council vote Friday on a\u00a0British-drafted resolution\u00a0calling for \u201can immediate cessation of hostilities ahead of the month of Ramadan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The draft resolution expresses \u201cgrave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sudan plunged into chaos last April, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by\u00a0Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan\u00a0and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by\u00a0Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo\u00a0broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fighting spread to other parts of the country, but in Sudan\u2019s western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two decades ago, Sudan\u2019s vast western Darfur region became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias against populations that identify as Central or East African.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The International Criminal Court\u2019s prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in late January there are grounds to believe\u00a0both sides in the current conflict are committing possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a Security Council meeting on Sudan, Guterres pointed to renewed military offensives and growing fears of a further expansion of hostilities in the east, calls for arming civilians in various states, and armed groups entering the fighting in western Darfur and South Kordofan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll these dangerous developments are pouring fuel on the fire for an even more serious fragmentation of the country, a deepening of intra-and inter-communal tensions, and more ethnic violence,\u201d Guterres said. \u201cA Ramadan cessation of hostilities can help stem the suffering and usher the way to sustainable peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sudan\u2019s U.N. Ambassador Al-Harith Mohamed said the government was \u201cvery pleased\u201d with what the U.N. chief said and told the Security Council that he just heard from general Burhan. \u201cHe commends the secretary-general on his appeal for a cessation of hostilities during the month of Ramadan,\u201d the ambassador said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHowever, he\u2019s wondering about how to do this,\u201d Mohamed said, stressing that the Rapid Support Forces are continuing their attacks. \u201cAll those who would like to see that appeal transformed into action \u2026 if they would like to present a mechanism for implementation of it, we would welcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the conflict continues with no end in sight, Guterres warned that the humanitarian consequences of the conflict are reaching \u201ccolossal proportions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Half of Sudan\u2019s population \u2014 25 million people \u2014 need life-saving assistance, some 18 million are \u201cacutely food insecure,\u201d and the U.N. is receiving reports of children dying from malnutrition, Guterres said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sudan also has the world\u2019s worst internal displacement crisis, with 6.3 million people who fled their homes and remain in the country seeking safety, he said. Civilian infrastructure has been destroyed and 70% of health facilities in conflict areas aren\u2019t functioning. And millions of children aren\u2019t going to school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the U.N. is also receiving reports of systematic sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, as well as abduction and trafficking \u201cfor the purpose of sexual exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Ramadan expected to begin around Sunday, depending on the sighting of the new moon, Britain\u2019s deputy U.N. ambassador James Kariuki said he hopes for a Security Council vote on a Ramadan cease-fire on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces bear responsibility for the horrendous situation in Sudan,\u201d he told the council. \u201cShelling and attacks from both sides in heavily populated urban areas and across the entire western region of Sudan continue to kill and terrorize civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kariuki echoed the secretary-general\u2019s call for an immediate cease-fire for Ramadan and urged the government to allow humanitarian aid deliveries from neighboring Chad to conflict-torn Darfur, and both sides to allow deliveries across conflict lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt should not be for the military leadership of both the SAF (Sudan Armed Forces) or RSF to determine the political future of Sudan,\u201d Kariuki said. \u201cWe call on them to give way to a civilian transitional government that will fully respect the basic human rights of the Sudanese people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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