Sudan's warring sides have no political will to end conflict, US says

Civil war between Sudan's army and paramilitary forces is entering its third month

Sudanese flee from Khartoum in a vehicle carrying their belongings. AFP

Sudan's warring sides have no “political will” to resolve the devastating conflict, the US said on Friday, as the war continues to intensify across the country.

“The two parties to the conflict in Sudan have no political will, but diplomacy is the only solution to the conflict, not fighting,” said Hala Ghrait, regional spokeswoman for the US Department of State.

“We are working with Saudi Arabia and the African and European unions to find a solution in Sudan.”

She added that a civilian government must be formed.

The war that erupted on April 15 has pitted Sudan's army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which balked at integration into the main armed forces as part of plans for a transition to civilian rule.

Fighting has been concentrated in the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur.

Ms Ghrait's statements came after White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the situation in Sudan still poses a threat to civilians, describing the events there as “unacceptable”.

International aid agencies have said the conflict has resulted in a surge in cases of sexual assault and abduction of women and girls, some as young as 12.

Teenage girls are being sexually assaulted by armed combatants in “alarming numbers”, Save the Children said in a statement on Friday, while the UN reported a “marked increase” in gender-based violence.

While dozens of cases of rape during the conflict have been verified, the Sudanese government's Combating Violence against Women unit estimates that figure may represent only 2 per cent of the total.

“We know that the official numbers are only the tip of the iceberg. Children as young as 12 are being targeted for their gender, for their ethnicity, for their vulnerability,” Save the Children's Sudan director Arif Noor said in a statement.

Some parents are marrying off their daughters at a young age to try to protect them from further abuse, he added.