UN Warns Sudan War Is Becoming Harder to Stop

Arabic version: الأمم المتحدة تحذّر من أن حرب السودان تزداد صعوبة في الإيقاف

According to Allafrica, Sudan’s war is becoming harder to stop as fighting spreads, weapons become more sophisticated and the number of armed groups and outside interests grows. Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, delivered the warning in a Security Council briefing on August 24.

After more than three years of conflict, some 13 million Sudanese have fled their homes, including 8.7 million displaced inside the country. The UN documented about 1,400 civilian deaths between January and June, including 1,100 caused by drone strikes. DiCarlo said brutal mass killings, abductions of women and girls, and mass rapes are recurring patterns.

Drones used by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have repeatedly struck markets, schools, fuel stations and water infrastructure. Heavy drone attacks and limited ground combat have concentrated in North Kordofan, West Darfur, North Darfur and Blue Nile. In and around El Obeid, the two forces are competing for strategically important territory, while insecurity near the borders with Chad and Ethiopia raises concerns about wider regional effects and further refugee flows.

DiCarlo said sophisticated weaponry points to continuing external support for both sides, helping sustain a level of warfare they could not easily maintain alone. The proliferation of local militias and other armed movements is also fragmenting the battlefield, complicating prospects for a ceasefire or political settlement.

The UN is supporting efforts by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to secure a humanitarian truce, alongside work with the African Union, IGAD, the Arab League and the European Union on a broader political process. In-person talks involving Sudanese political and civilian actors are due in Addis Ababa in September. DiCarlo said the SAF and RSF must make concrete commitments, while the Security Council and external actors press them toward negotiations.