UN leader urges ceasefire as Sudan conflict escalates – JURIST

UN Secretary-General António Guterres renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, urging the country’s warring parties to prioritize compromise and protect civilians as the conflict enters another year marked by escalating violence, displacement, and attacks on peacekeepers. Guterres welcomed a peace initiative presented earlier this week by Sudan’s Transitional Prime Minister at the UN Security Council, but stressed that only a cessation of hostilities and an inclusive political process could halt the country’s downward spiral. Emphasizing the need for a civilian-led transition, Guterres reaffirmed the readiness of the UN’s Personal Envoy for Sudan to facilitate consultations between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The renewed diplomatic push comes amid severe security setbacks on the ground. Earlier this month, a drone strike on a UN logistics base in Kadugli, South Kordofan, killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers and injured several others, forcing the evacuation of a long-standing UN facility in the region.

At the same time, humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate sharply. UN briefings to the Security Council have identified Kordofan as a new epicenter of violence, with drone strikes killing civilians, including children, and hitting hospitals and schools. Fighting between the SAF and RSF has intensified across Darfur and Kordofan, driving mass displacement and obstructing aid delivery.

The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between Sudan’s military leaders, has since produced one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises. Rights groups have documented indiscriminate attacks on civilians, the destruction of health facilities, and mass displacement from camps such as Zamzam in North Darfur, raising concerns of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

International pressure has continued to mount. In recent months, UN officials and foreign ministers from Germany, Jordan, and the United Kingdom have jointly called for an immediate ceasefire, warning that atrocities, famine, and impunity are pushing Sudan toward catastrophe.