People of Sudan ‘have had enough of war’

The Sudanese people have had enough of the bloody conflict in their country, UN investigators said on Thursday as the fighting rolls into a second year.

The warring parties must commit to an immediate ceasefire, end attacks on civilians and ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian aid, a UN fact-finding mission said.

“It’s beyond time for this devastating war to stop,” mission chief Mohammed Chande Othman said. “The Sudanese people have endured enough. The warring parties must find a path for peace.”

Fighting erupted on April 15 last year between the Sudanese regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has killed thousands and sparked a humanitarian disaster.

The UN Human Rights Council established the fact-finding mission in October to investigate alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The mission will submit a full report to the council at its September-October session. Othman, a former chief justice of Tanzania, said the army and the paramilitaries had shown little regard for protecting civilians, with repeated attacks on non-combatants, schools and hospitals.

“There have been attacks and looting of humanitarian convoys, personnel and warehouses,” said Mona Rishmawi, one of the mission’s three investigators. “We are also investigating the deliberate blocking of humanitarian assistance destined for civilians living in areas controlled by the opposite side.” More than 8.5 million people have fled their homes since the fighting broke out, with 1.8 million having escaped across the country’s borders. An international humanitarian conference for Sudan and its neighbors will be held in Paris on Monday’s anniversary of the conflict’s outbreak. Co-hosted by France, Germany and the EU, it aims to address the shortfall in funding, with only 6 percent of the $2.7 billion needed having been raised so far.