UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has insisted that the organisation is not leaving Sudan as the war escalates with a number of countries scrambling to get their diplomatic staff and nationals out of the country.
Guterres said the UN will not abandon the people of Sudan in this hour of need and also urged the international community to help.
He called on Sudan Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah alBurhan and leader of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to sit around the table and stop the fighting. France confirmed that it has rescued 500 people including its nationals and those from other countries.
It said there was a ship in Port Sudan to rescue 1 700 more people. Guterres, who was addressing the UN Security Council earlier this week, said this was not the time to abandon the people of Sudan.
He said they were trying to make efforts to bring in aid to thousands of Sudanese people who faced a humanitarian crisis as they run out of essential supplies like food, medicine and other needs. Guterres said the violence must come to an end.
“The violence must stop. It risks a catastrophic conflagration within Sudan that could engulf the whole region and beyond,” said Guterres. “I strongly condemn the indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas, including healthcare facilities.
I call on the parties to stop combat operations in densely populated areas and to allow unhindered humanitarian aid operations. Civilians must be able to access food, water and other essential supplies, and evacuate from combat zones,” he said. — IOL