UN chief Guterres ‘deeply concerned’ about reports of RSF attack on al-Fashir

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply concerned” by reports of a major attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Sudanese town of al-Fashir and called on their leaders to stop the attack immediately, a UN spokesman said on Saturday.

Guterres warned that further escalation could lead to an expansion of the conflict to the entire western Darfur region, the spokesman said.

“He calls on Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemedti' Dagalo to act responsibly and immediately order an end to the RSF attack,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “It is irresponsible that the warring parties have repeatedly ignored calls for a cessation of hostilities.”

In April last year, war broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the RSF, sparking the world's largest refugee crisis. UN officials warned that escalating violence around al-Fashir could spark further conflict between communities.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Saturday that the conflict will be on the agenda when President Joe Biden meets with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday.

Clashes broke out between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates in the UN Security Council because the Sudanese government, which is allied with the army, had accused the UAE of arming and supporting the RSF.

“We are concerned about a number of countries and the steps they are taking to perpetuate the conflict rather than resolve it,” Sullivan told reporters. “Our ultimate goal is to move the entire conflict with Sudan onto a different trajectory than the tragic and horrific one it is currently on. And I think that will require some intense but sensitive diplomatic conversations with a number of actors.”

In a resolution passed in June, the UN Security Council called for an end to the RSF's siege of al-Fashir, a city of 1.8 million people in Sudan's North Darfur region, and an immediate end to fighting in the region.

The resolution also called for the withdrawal of all fighters threatening the safety of civilians in al-Fashir, the last major city in the vast Darfur region not under RSF control.

In the early 2000s, the UN estimates that around 300,000 people were killed in Darfur when the Janjaweed militias – from which the RSF emerged – helped the army put down an insurgency led by mainly non-Arab groups. Sudan's leaders are wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, Katharine Jackson and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Daniel Wallis)