Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), says the ongoing conflict in Sudan has taken the global body by “surprise”.
Speaking in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Wednesday, as he began a two-day official visit to the country, Guterres said there were no indications that a conflict of this magnitude would emerge soon in Sudan.
Official government figures show the death toll in Sudan has reached 528 as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battle for control of the third largest nation in Africa.
Thousands of people have also been displaced as confusion and anxiety mar evacuation of foreigners by their countries.
There have been international calls for a permanent ceasefire including from the United Nations and the African Union.
“This issue in Sudan has taken the UN by surprise,” Guterres said Wednesday at the UN office in Nairobi.
“We were hopeful that negotiations will be successful. We were not expecting this to happen,” he added.
The UN chief said they tried everything possible to avert the conflict in Sudan. “We failed to avoid it to happen. I don’t think there was anything that we should have done [that we did not do] to stop it [from happening]. We were convinced that this was not going to happen.”
Guterres asked the leaders of the warring parties - Commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of SAF and Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the RSF, to dialogue to end the bloodshed.
“A country like Sudan that has suffered so much, that is in such a desperate, economic and humanitarian situation cannot afford a struggle for power between two people,” said Guterres.
He added that the conflict, if not swiftly managed, might lead to more despair for the developing nation.
“The fighting needs to stop and to stop now before more people die and this conflict explodes into an all-out war that could affect the region for years to come.
All parties must put the interest of the Sudanese people first, and that means peace and a return to civilian rule that allows for the development of the country.”
Guterres said the UN has initiated talks with leaders of SAF and SRF to deescalate the tensions.
Despite reported commitment to a truce by the warring parties, intermittent clashes continued between the SAF and the RSF in various areas in the capital Khartoum and Omdurman.
The two parties announced a seven-day ceasefire on Tuesday and were expected to start talks.
