2023-09-22 09:49:05
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The war in Sudan might spread beyond the northeast African country’s borders if it is not stopped, the head of the Sudanese army told the United Nations General Assembly, urging leaders to designate the rival paramilitary force as a terrorist group.
“The nature of this war is now a threat to regional and international peace and security (…) This is like the spark of war, a war that will spread to other countries in the region,” said General Abdel Fattah Burhan before the assembly on Thursday night.
The conflict in Sudan broke out in mid-April, when latent tensions between the army, led by Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, intensified. The two generals had joined forces to seize power in 2021 in a coup that drove pro-democratic forces from the country.
At least 5,000 people have been killed in the fighting and another 12,000 wounded, according to Volker Perthes, the UN special envoy to the country, who resigned last week.
General Burhan said the army has “knocked (on) all doors to stop this war” and called on the UN to designate the FAR as a terrorist group. The paramilitary group, he said, has committed “all types of crimes that give rise to such a designation,” including having received help from “criminals and terrorist groups” from other countries.
“They have supported murders, arson, rape, forced displacement, looting, robbery, torture, arms and drug trafficking, recruitment of mercenaries or children — all these crimes must be prosecuted and punished,” Burhan added.
Both the army and the FAR have been accused by Amnesty International of numerous crimes, including the deliberate murder of civilians and mass sexual assaults.
At least 4.6 million people have been displaced by the fighting, according to UN data. Children are among the worst affected: at least 1,200 have died in camps for displaced people from the lethal combination of measles and malnutrition.
The conflict must be resolved so that Sudan can transition to democracy through peaceful elections, Burhan said.
“We remain committed to our previous promises to transfer (sovereignty) to the people of Sudan with great national consensus so that the armed forces abandon politics once and for all,” he added.
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