International countries and organisations call for end of violence in Sudan

MOSCOW - UN Secretary-General António Guterres, together with a slew of international organisations and countries, on Saturday called for an end to the hostilities in Sudan that erupted earlier in the day.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the outbreak of fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces in Sudan. The Secretary-General calls on the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm and initiate a dialogue to resolve the current crisis," the statement read.

Any further escalation threatens to impact the civilian population and exacerbate "the already precarious situation in the country”, the statement added. Guterres also called on the UN member countries in the region to support efforts to restore order, adding that he is engaged with the leaders of these nations.

The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, echoed Guterres, saying he had reached out to the RSF and the Sudanese army "asking them for an immediate cessation of fighting", reported Sputnik.

African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat voiced concerns over the escalation of violence in Sudan, urging all parties to "immediately end the destruction of the country, the terrorisation of its population, and the bloodshed".

Russia, Egypt, Turkey, the European Union, the League of Arab States, as well as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the US Ambassador in Khartoum, have all called for the cessation of hostilities between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) -BERNAMA