The UK has strongly condemned the recent escalation of violence in Sudan, saying the escalating fighting between warring parties and their militias, including in El Fasher and El-Gezira, is having a devastating impact on civilians. In a statement, the UK Mission to the UN said: “The Rapid Support Forces appear to be waging a campaign of ethnically motivated violence in Darfur, including sexual and gender-based violence.
“Meanwhile, reportedly indiscriminate airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces across North Darfur and wider Sudan continue to kill innocent civilians.” The statement further said that “both parties’ collective actions, including the diversion of aid, border closures and bureaucratic obstructionism, are preventing life-saving humanitarian aid from reaching those in greatest need; as a result, an unprecedented five million people are now a step away from famine.”
The UK Mission to the UN called for an immediate end to the fighting, and for unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need. “The international community, including regional actors, the UN, the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development, must use all its influence to urge the parties to resume peace talks, end the obstruction of cross-border and crossline humanitarian access, guarantee the safety of civilians, and promote peace and accountability in Sudan,” the statement said.