Over 180 killed, 1,800 injured in Sudan fighting

More than 180 people have been killed and 1,800 wounded in the past three days in fighting between two rival generals vying for power in Sudan, the head of the UN mission in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said on Monday.

The UN envoy stressed the need to protect UN personnel and medical facilities, noting that “the situation is very difficult, if not impossible, in the face of any humanitarian work, and the current conditions do not allow the delivery of any humanitarian aid.”

“The situation is very fluid. It is difficult to assess in which direction the balance is shifting,” Perthes told reporters from Khartoum, after a closed-door address to the Security Council.

The UN envoy pointed out that the two warring sides want mediation and each party calls on the other to surrender, stressing that there is no UN mediation now to return to the political track.

Volker Perthes stressed that “our priority now is to return to the political track and to a permanent solution.”

“I have no news of military reinforcements in Khartoum and we are not aware of developments on the ground,” Volker Perthes said.

The UN envoy pointed out that “there are serious violations and I cannot determine whether they amount to war crimes,” stressing that “the United Nations will try tomorrow to extend the deadline for the ceasefire and work to reach a permanent agreement.”

E.M