Latest news with #SudanConflict
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
UN peacekeeping chief warns that conflict in Sudan is spilling into Central African Republic
UNITED NATIONS — The conflict in Sudan is spilling across its southwestern border into Central African Republic , a country already battered by its own conflict with rebels, the United Nations peacekeeping chief warned Thursday. Undersecretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the U.N. Security Council that the attack that killed a U.N. peacekeeper near the country's border with Sudan last Friday was carried out by 'armed Sudanese elements.' His comments were the first identifying Sudanese armed fighters as responsible for the attack on the peacekeepers.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
UN peacekeeping chief warns that conflict in Sudan is spilling into Central African Republic
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The conflict in Sudan is spilling across its southwestern border into Central African Republic, a country already battered by its own conflict with rebels, the United Nations peacekeeping chief warned Thursday. Undersecretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the U.N. Security Council that the attack that killed a U.N. peacekeeper near the country's border with Sudan last Friday was carried out by 'armed Sudanese elements.' His comments were the first identifying Sudanese armed fighters as responsible for the attack on the peacekeepers. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said in a new report to the Security Council that vehicles suspected of belonging to the Rapid Support Forces — the key actors in Sudan's civil war — were sighted on several occasions in the areas of Am Dafok and Aouk (Vakaga Prefecture) of Central African Republic, where U.N. peacekeepers are present. In the report covering the period from mid-February to mid-June, Guterres said, 'In the northeast (of CAR), armed incursions linked to the conflict in the Sudan continued.' Sudan plunged into civil war when rival generals heading the country's armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces started fighting each other in mid-April 2023. Since then, at least 24,000 people have died, about 13 million Sudanese have fled their homes, famine is setting in and cholera is sweeping across the country. Both sides have been accused of war crimes. Meanwhile, CAR has been battling conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then President François Bozizé from office. It is among the first countries in Africa to welcome Russia-backed forces, with Moscow seeking to help protect authorities and fight armed groups. Lacroix, the U.N. peacekeeping chief, said that while progress is being made with some groups on reintegrating into CAR's peace process, violence by armed groups and militias continues, compromising stability and posing a significant threat to civilians. He said the government continues to collaborate with MINUSCA — the U.N.'s peacekeeping operation in CAR — on extending and enhancing its presence throughout the country and improving security in border areas. 'Despite these efforts, the security situation remains tenuous in border areas in the northeast,' Lacroix said. 'In the border region with Sudan, instability continues to be characterized by the spillover of the Sudanese conflict.' With general elections expected to be held in December, the political situation remains 'punctuated by mistrust and tensions between the majority in power and opposition,' Lacroix said. The elections represent a 'crucial opportunity' to strengthen democratic governance, promote reconciliation and consolidate stability, he added.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UN warns of Sudanese conflict ‘spill over' in C.Africa
United Nations, US: The UN peacekeeping chief warned Thursday about potential spill over from Sudan's war to undermine nascent stability in the Central African Republic, including paramilitary operations. Last week, an armed group attacked a patrol by the UN mission in the CAR, killing a Zambian peacekeeper. Among the world's poorest countries, the CAR shares a border with Sudan, which has been plunged into devastating conflict between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix highlighted the armed group attacking the CAR mission during a Security Council meeting Thursday, and a report released by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's office noted attacks in the region as well. 'The security situation remains fragile in border areas,' Lacroix told the UN Security Council, referring to the CAR. 'In the northeast, on the border with Sudan, instability is characterized by the overflow of Sudanese conflict, including incursions by armed groups,' he added. The Central African Republic is also reckoning with rising numbers of Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict, with the UN report estimating 36,642 living in the country as of June 1. 'The Sudanese conflict is a real threat. Armed groups are crossing our borders, recruiting young people and compromising our sovereignty,' said CAR UN ambassador Marius Aristide Hoja Nzessioue. Lacroix said the Central African Republic was at a 'delicate juncture,' adding that support for the progress made toward upcoming elections from the international community 'remains essential.' 'If these efforts are Central African Republic has the potential to become a true success story — not only for Central Africans, but also for Peacekeeping and for this Security Council,' Lacroix said.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
RSF leader and army-backed PM offer conflicting narratives for war-torn Sudan
Addressing the nation, the commander of Sudan 's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the new army-backed Prime Minister painted a contrasting picture of a country that has effectively been partitioned. The RSF and the army have been at war since April 2023. The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 13 million while leaving millions facing acute hunger or, in growing numbers, famine. RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo and Prime Minister Kamil Idris spoke at about the same time one evening last week. Their styles and the content of their speeches highlighted a divided nation. The army, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, controls the capital Khartoum, as well as the northern, eastern and central regions of the vast Afro-Arab nation. The RSF, whose forerunner is a notorious militia known as the Janjaweed, controls the entire western Darfur region, except for one city held by the army, and parts of Kordofan to the south-west. The army and its allies have yet to make a concerted effort to retake Darfur and Kordofan from the RSF, where it maintains the bulk of its forces and has allies among powerful rebel groups. Gen Dagalo is a one-time cattle trader and Janjaweed fighter who rose to national prominence through the patronage of former dictator Omar Al Bashir. In contrast, Mr Idris is a former UN diplomat educated in Switzerland, Egypt and the US, as well as his native Sudan. RSF view In desert camouflage, Gen Dagalo told hundreds of his fighters that the army and its allies were nothing more than criminal gangs of thieves. He also repeated his long-standing charge that Gen Al Burhan was relying on Islamists loyal to the toppled regime of Al Bashir. Standing on the back of an all-terrain vehicle at an unspecified site in Darfur, Gen Dagalo appeared to underscore the de facto partition of Sudan, speaking of the region in terms more akin to an independent nation rather than an integral part of Sudan. The RSF's administration of Darfur – by far the worst-affected area of Sudan in terms of hunger and famine – would achieve self-sufficiency in food following the rainy season, he said. The RSF, he added, would also secure international humanitarian assistance for Darfur's ethnically diverse residents. He did not elaborate. Gen Dagalo sought to portray the RSF as a protector of the country. He spoke of the paramilitary's role in safeguarding Sudan's northern border after his fighters recently seized the area where the borders of Egypt, Sudan and Libya converge, with Chad's a short distance to the west. "If our control of the border triangle has not benefited our neighbours, at least it has brought them no harm," he said. "The triangle and the desert are a bastion of corruption, smuggling, terrorism and illegal migration," Gen Dagalo told his fighters. Sudanese political analyst Osman Fadlallah said the speech "transcended the language of war to become presidential-like". He added: "Dagalo is proceeding with growing confidence in presenting himself as a substitute to rule Sudan, or at least to enshrine a parallel role in areas under RSF control." Army view In sharply contrasting style, Mr Idris, in a dark business suit and tie, delivered his speech at a studio, using a prompter to paint a rosy picture of the future of the resource-rich but impoverished nation under his stewardship. He said his government would end nepotism and operate based on justice, transparency and rule of law, said Mr Idris, whose inaugural address to the nation last month included segments directed at the West that he delivered in English, French and Spanish. He called on top experts and professionals who want a place in his cabinet to send him their biographies through a social media address he said he would later publicise. "It will be called 'the government of hope'," he declared, and it would strive to achieve security, prosperity and a life with dignity for the Sudanese. Nearly a month after he was appointed Prime Minister, only two positions in his proposed cabinet of 22 have been filled: the interior and defence portfolios, whose occupants are traditionally picked by the military. "The government of hope is a fragile and elitist project," said Mr Fadlallah. "Idris seeks to formulate a new reality that's immune to the present situation, while Dagalo wants to enshrine the outcome of the war thus far." Sudan, a nation of 50 million, has been plagued by a series of civil wars and economic crises since its independence in 1956. Compounding its woes have been frequent military coups, ushering in authoritarian regimes invariably toppled by uprisings brought brief spells of democratic government. The current civil war in Sudan is, in large part, a continuation of that pattern. Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo together staged a coup in 2021 that removed the transitional government that followed Al Bashir's downfall in 2019. The coup derailed the nation's shift to democratic rule and drew international sanctions that battered the economy, just as it was showing signs of recovery, albeit slowly. Differences between the two generals over the role of the army and the RSF in a democratic Sudan grew ominously tense in 2022 before violence broke out in April 2023. Both the army and the RSF are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during their war.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown
A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country's devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side. The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF's negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire. The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain. 'Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,' Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. 'Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.' He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan's military-backed government. However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting. 'We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,' he said, adding that the RSF remains 'at its strongest' on the battlefield. Sudan's army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF. Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control. Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a 'government of unity and peace.' He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed. 'The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,' Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. 'It's not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.' Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum. 'There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,' he said. 'From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.' He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance. The RSF's moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.
