Russia and UN official discuss steps to end Sudan conflict
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin has met with the UN secretary-general's personal envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, to discuss ways to bring the armed conflict in Sudan to an end, the Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.
During their discussions, both parties reportedly highlighted the urgency of ending the protracted conflict. Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by fierce fighting between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), with both factions vying for control amid a stalled transition to civilian rule.
'The need for coordinated efforts by the international community aimed at achieving a ceasefire and resuming an inclusive inter-Sudanese dialogue involving all influential political forces and ethno-confessional groups in the country was emphasized,' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that special attention was given to the dire humanitarian situation on the ground.
'The inadmissibility of destructive external interference in the Sudanese crisis has been reaffirmed,' the statement read.
According to Reuters, citing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 4 million people have fled Sudan since the outbreak of the war. UNHCR spokesperson Eugene Byun told reporters in Geneva that the situation has reached a 'tragic milestone,' and warned that continued violence would drive thousands more into displacement, posing risks to regional and global stability.
At the briefing, the UNHCR's Dossou Patrice Ahouansou highlighted the deteriorating conditions in neighboring Chad, where over 800,000 Sudanese refugees have sought shelter. He described the living conditions as 'appalling' due to severe underfunding, noting that only 14% of the required resources have been raised.
Estimates of fatalities vary, though research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine suggests that over 61,000 people were killed in the state of Khartoum alone during the first 14 months of the conflict.
Earlier this month, the UN reiterated its call for all parties in Sudan to uphold international humanitarian law.
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