UN envoy to Sudan resigns and warns of 'full-scale civil war'

The UN special envoy for Sudan – who was declared unwelcome by the country’s military rulers – has resigned in a final speech to the United Nations Security Council, warning that the conflict between Sudan’s rival military leaders “could be morphing into a full-scale civil war.”

Volker Perthes, UN Special Representative to Sudan, has stepped down. AFP - ASHRAF SHAZLY

Volker Perthes, who continued to work outside Sudan, has said the fighting shows no sign of abating, with neither side appearing close to “a decisive military victory.”

He also underlined the violence in Sudan's western Darfur region “has worsened dramatically,” with civilians being targeted based on their ethnicity.

Tensions between Sudan’s military, led by army General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting in April.

• UN warns Sudan conflict is 'spiralling out of control' as 4 million flee

At least 5,000 people have been killed since then and over 12,000 wounded, Perthes said, while calling the figures conservative and saying the actual number “is likely much higher.”

The UN envoy said there were at least 13 mass graves in and around Geneina, the capital of West Darfur’s province, according to credible reports the UN Joint Human Rights Office received.

The graves were a result of attacks by the RSF and their allied Arab Janjaweed militias on civilians, mostly African communities, Perthes said.

International & regional actors need to coordinate the ways & means of influencing the parties to accept a sustainable cessation of hostilities. Most importantly in this context, I urge member states to stem the flow of weapons into Sudan & to refrain from resupplying either side pic.twitter.com/ZTy6AhdZyz

— UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission Sudan (@UNITAMS) September 13, 2023

Atrocities in Darfur

The western Darfur region was the scene of a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s.

More than 20 million people – almost half Sudan's population – are experiencing acute hunger and food insecurity, according to the UN humanitarian office’s operations director, Edem Wosornu.

Wosornu told the council: “More than 6 million people are now just one step away from famine ... If the fighting continues, this potential tragedy comes closer to reality every day.”

The conflict has forced over 4 million people to flee their homes to other places in Sudan and more than 1 million to seek refuge in neighbouring countries, Wosornu said, stressing that displacement and insecurity “have driven cases of sexual violence to distressing levels.”

"The situation in Sudan is a humanitarian catastrophe. If more devastation and human suffering is to be averted, immediate and comprehensive action is required.”@EdemWosornu urges donors to step up their support for relief operations in #Sudan.

🔗https://t.co/uHPc8HPhmJ pic.twitter.com/lGMyC6ZLRH

— UN OCHA Sudan (@UNOCHA_Sudan) August 22, 2023

'Persona non grata'

Perthes was a key mediator after the conflict began, but the military government claimed he was biased and informed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on 8 June that he was declared persona non grata.

The UN denounced the move, saying that a member of its personnel cannot be declared persona non grata – unacceptable to the government – and that this goes against the United Nations Charter.

In announcing his resignation, Perthes – who was appointed as special representative for Sudan in January 2021 – urged the warring sides to end the fighting and warned them “they cannot operate with impunity.”

“There will be accountability for the crimes committed,” he said.

• More than 6 million people a step away from famine in Sudan, UN warns

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Guterres told a news conference that he had accepted Perthes’ resignation, saying, without elaborating, that the envoy “has very strong reasons to resign.”

Perthes also warned of “the risk of a fragmentation of the country,” pointing to myriad crises, including Darfur, the cross-border mobilisation of Arab tribes, fighting in the country's South Kordofan and Blue Nile provinces between the Sudanese military and rebels, and rising tensions in eastern Sudan amid ongoing tribal mobilisation.

He also added – referring to Sudan's longtime autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir who was deposed in a popular uprising in 2019 – that “the mobilisation by former regime elements advocating for a continuation of the war is of particular concern.”