WNAM Monitoring: The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Friday to end a political mission in war-torn Sudan, diplomats said, after the country’s acting foreign minister requested the move earlier this month and described the mission’s performance as “disappointing.”
A war erupted on April 15 between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after weeks of rising tension between the two sides over a plan to integrate forces as part of a transition from military rule to civilian democracy.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation to reporters on Tuesday: “You have two generals that completely disregard the interests of their population.”
When asked whether the conflict was a failure of the United Nations or African Union, Guterres said: “It’s time to call a spade a spade. This is the fault of those that sacrificed the interests of their people for a pure struggle for power.”
The draft council resolution terminates the mandate of the UN mission, known as UNITAMS, on Dec. 3 and requires it to wind down over the next three months. UNITAMS was established by the 15-member council in June 2020 to provide support to Sudan during its political transition to democratic rule.
The draft text “recognizes the importance of UN agencies, funds and programs, underlines the necessity of an orderly UNITAMS transition and liquidation in order to ensure the safety of UN personnel and the effective functioning of all UN operations, including humanitarian and development assistance.”
A UN country team providing humanitarian and development aid will remain in the country.
Violence against civilians in Sudan is “verging on pure evil,” a senior United Nations official warned earlier this month, as a humanitarian crisis in the country worsens and ethnic violence escalates in the western region of Darfur.
Death toll in Sudan from floods, heavy rains rises to 132
WNAM REPORT: The death toll in Sudan from floods due to a collapsed dam and heavy rains has risen to...
