Why UN Force may not be deployed to Sudan any soon

NAIROBI, Kenya - The conditions in Sudan are not favourable to the deployment of the United Nations Forces, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said while asking the Security Council to protect civilians in the country.

The United Nations Security Council makes important decisions on deployment of security forces to war-prone regions but no such declaration has been made for the last five years as the conflict escalates in the Horn of Africa nation.

“The people of Sudan are living through a nightmare of violence — with thousands of civilians killed, and countless others facing unspeakable atrocities, including widespread rape and sexual assaults,” Guterres told the 15-member council.

Since last year, the Rapid Support Force (RSF) has been fighting against the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) as both sides battle for political control of the country. This has in the process led to mass displacement of the people.

“Sudan is, once again, rapidly becoming a nightmare of mass ethnic violence,” Guterres said, referring to a conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region about 20 years ago that led to the International Criminal Court charging former Sudanese leaders with genocide and crimes against humanity.

The current war has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. The RSF killed at least 124 people in a village in El Gezira State on Friday, activists said, in one of the conflict’s deadliest incidents.

Both sides blame each other for the crimes against humanity and neither is ready to embrace dialogue even as the United Nations pushes for cessation of hostilities in Sudan. Thousands of people have been displaced and hundreds left dying.

Guterres acknowledged calls by Sudanese and human-rights groups for stepped-up measures to protect civilians, including the possible deployment of some form of impartial force, saying they reflected “the gravity and urgency of the situation.”

“At present, the conditions do not exist for the successful deployment of a United Nations force to protect civilians in Sudan,” he told the council but added he was ready to discuss other ways to reduce violence and protect civilians.

“This may require new approaches that are adapted to the challenging circumstances of the conflict,” Guterres said.

At the moment, aid is needed as 25 million people struggle to survive with 11 million believed to have fled to neighbouring countries. Some are believed to be in Ethiopia, others in Chad, and the neighboring South Sudan.

“This is not just a matter of insufficient funding. Millions are going hungry because of access,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council.

Thomas-Greenfield said Washington was alarmed that instead of facilitating aid, the Sudanese authorities “continue to undermine, intimidate, and target humanitarian officials.” She said they need to expand and streamline humanitarian movements.

“They also need to extend the authorization for the Adre border crossing, open additional cross-border and crossline access routes, and facilitate airport access for humanitarian purposes,” Thomas-Greenfield added.

Sudan is struggling to find the right footing after the popular civilian uprising that acted as a catalyst for the military takeover. The Transition Council is yet to handover power to civilians with the internal military squabbles making it extremely difficult.

GAROWE ONLINE