Return to dialogue, UAE urges Sudan rivals

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates has expressed deep concern over the heightened tensions in the El Fasher region in North Darfur and the threat this poses to Sudanese civilians.

“The UAE calls on all armed factions, including the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, to end the fighting and return to dialogue,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“The UAE again calls on all warring parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to take immediate, decisive measures to de-escalate tensions and prevent Sudan from plunging further into new levels of instability,” statement said.

The UAE calls for strengthening the international humanitarian response and providing urgent relief to those in need in Sudan and neighbouring countries.

The UAE is particularly alarmed by reports of sexual violence against women and girls, high risk of famine, indiscriminate aerial bombings, and the continued suffering and displacement of thousands of civilians, especially children, women, and the elderly.

The UAE urges the UN Security Council to ensure an end to the conflict and to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Sudan.

“The UAE reiterates its firm position demanding an immediate ceasefire and a political solution to the crisis, stressing its support for the political process and efforts to achieve national consensus towards a civilian-led government,” the Ministry added.

The United Nations said on Friday has said that Sudanese paramilitary forces are encircling the only capital they haven’t captured in the western Darfur region.

It warned that an attack would have “devastating consequences” for the city’s 800,000 inhabitants.

At the same time, the UN said, the rival Sudanese Armed Forces “appear to be positioning themselves.”

UN Secretary-general António Guterres again called on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and government forces to refrain from fighting in the North Darfur area around its capital, El Fasher, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The year-old war in Sudan between rival generals from the paramilitary and government forces who are vying for power has sparked “a crisis of epic proportions,” UN political chief Rosemary Dicarlo had said last Friday.

It has been fueled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to flout UN sanctions aimed at helping end the conflict, she said, stressing that “This is illegal, it is immoral, and it must stop.”