Guterres says situation in Sudan not right for UN force despite 'humanitarian catastrophe'

Current war has produced largest displacement crisis in the world

Internally displaced Sudanese queue at a school used as a shelter in Lokoja. AFP

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council on Monday to commit to helping protect civilians amid the “utter humanitarian catastrophe” in Sudan, but said conditions are not right for deployment of a UN force.

“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,” Mr Guterres told the 15-member council.

Civil war erupted in April of last year when a power-sharing dispute between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into violence.

“Sudan is, once again, rapidly becoming a nightmare of mass ethnic violence,” Mr Guterres said, referring to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region around 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 the largest displacement crisis in the world, with waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. Activists say the group killed at least 124 people in a village in El Gezira state on Friday in one of the conflict's deadliest incidents. The RSF has previously denied that it harms civilians.

Mr Guterres acknowledged calls from human rights groups for new 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, adding that he was ready to discuss other ways to reduce violence and protect civilians. In September, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data said more than 23,000 fatalities had been reported in Sudan.

According to the UN, nearly 25 million people – half of Sudan's population – need aid as famine has taken hold in displacement camps and 11 million people have fled their homes. Nearly three million of those people have left for other countries. For those who remain in the country, diseases including malaria and cholera are spreading quickly, with the country's health system in tatters.

In addition to the conflict, scores were killed and about 600,000 affected by heavy rains and intense flooding in August. Sudan is now among the four countries in the world with the highest prevalence of global acute malnutrition, according to the UN.

Council members called for increased humanitarian aid to be allowed into the country, with US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield saying “millions are going hungry because of access”. She also accused Sudanese authorities of continuing to “undermine, intimidate and target humanitarian officials”.

The Sudanese ambassador Al Harith Idriss Al Harith Mohamed said Khartoum was committed to enabling the delivery of aid across the country and that 10 crossings and seven airports have been opened for the delivery of assistance.