UN calls for sides in Sudan to lay down arms, protect civilians during Ramadan

People from states of Khartoum and al-Jazira, displaced by the ongoing conflict in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries, queue to receive aid from a charity organisation in Gedaref on December 30, 2023. [Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images]

The UN on Friday called on the conflicting sides in Sudan to lay down arms and protect civilians during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, Anadolu reports.

“Sudan is barreling toward a full year of war,” Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said on X.

“Despite a Security Council resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities during Ramadan, the fighting continues,” he stressed.

“This is a moment of truth. The parties must silence the guns, protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access,” the official asserted.

Sudan has been mired in fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and the RSF.

At least 13,900 people have been killed and more than eight million displaced in the conflict that started in April 2023, according to UN figures.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi Arabia and US mediators have failed to end the violence.

Read: Sudan’s Burhan vows to hunt paramilitary RSF everywhere

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