Dand according to the leader of the United Nations, as worrying as developments in the Middle East are, “other dramatic life-and-death emergencies are being pushed into the shadows.”

“The world is forgetting the people of Sudan”, stressed Guterres, marking a year of war in the country, which broke out on April 15, 2023 following tensions over the reform of the army and the integration of paramilitaries into the armed forces .

The former Portuguese prime minister admitted that it was more than a conflict between two parties: “It is a war waged against the Sudanese people.”

“It is a war against the many thousands of civilians who have been killed and tens of thousands maimed for life. It is a war against the 18 million people who face acute hunger (…), against villages, homes, hospitals , schools and vital systems that have been reduced to rubble. And it is a war against human rights and international humanitarian law”, he stressed.

In this sense, Guterres reinforced that indiscriminate attacks that kill, injure and terrorize civilians can constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Furthermore, the Secretary-General noted that the impact of the conflict is spreading across borders, with more than eight million people having fled their homes in search of safety, with 1.8 million having moved to neighboring countries.

The latest reports of the escalation of hostilities in El Fasher — the capital of North Darfur — are a new cause for deep alarm, he said, warning that any attack on El Fasher would be devastating for civilians and could lead to inter-communal conflict total in Darfur.

It would also hamper aid operations in an area already on the brink of famine, as El Fasher has always been a critical UN humanitarian center.

Despite the serious difficulties facing the Sudanese people, Guterres lamented that the Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan, worth 2.54 billion euros, was only six percent funded.

The Regional Refugee Response Plan for the Sudan Crisis, worth 1.3 billion euros, is just seven percent.

“The Sudanese people desperately need the support and generosity of the global community to help them overcome this nightmare,” he appealed.

“But the Sudanese people need more than humanitarian support. They need an end to the bloodshed. They need peace. The only way out of this horror is a political solution,” he argued, also urging a concerted global push for an end -fire in Sudan, followed by a comprehensive peace process.

The United Nations leader concluded his speech to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, assuring that he will not give in to calls on all parties to “silence the weapons and satisfy the aspirations of the Sudanese people for a peaceful and secure future” .

The war in Sudan broke out precisely a year ago, due to tensions over army reform and the integration of paramilitaries into the armed forces, in the midst of a political process to put the country back on the path to democracy after the 2021 coup.

The war has displaced 8.5 million people, killed around 15,000 civilians and pushed 18 million people to the brink of starvation, while another 25 million depend on humanitarian aid, according to United Nations data.

[Notícia atualizada às 18h05]

Read Also: Sudan. Leader of the paramilitary group RSF says he is committed to a ceasefire

Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2541287/o-mundo-esta-a-esquecer-se-do-povo-do-sudao

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