UN Secretary-General: ‘Danger of all-out civil war and division in Sudan’

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has reiterated a warning of the danger of all-out civil war and division in Sudan. In his address at the opening of the general debate of the 78th Session of the General Assembly of the UN on Tuesday. Sudan’s junta leader, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, who is scheduled to address the General Assembly tomorrow, departed for New York on Wednesday with a Sudanese delegation.

Guterres’s warning echoes that of UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Sudan, and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, in his valedictory briefing to the UN Security Council last week.

The head of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, departed for New York yesterday with a Sudanese delegation. According the Sovereignty Council press office, El Burhan is scheduled to address the 78th Session of the General Assembly on Friday. The delegation will also participate in high-level meetings to discuss strengthening multilateral cooperation on various international and regional issues raised.

General Assembly

In his speech to the UN General Assembly Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, Emir of Qatar, condemned the violations during the ongoing war in Khartoum and Darfur, stressing the need to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Tamim also affirmed his support for all regional and international efforts to facilitate a cessation of hostilities and dialogue between Sudanese political forces on the future of Sudan, “with only one army that protects the country and does not rule it”.

The deadly conflict in Sudan, now in its sixth month, will also take centre stage today at a high-level event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. As hostilities and ethnic violence spread, the humanitarian crisis threatens to consume the entire country, while Sudan’s neighbours face a rising influx of refugees and returnees.

#UNGA78