UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Monday that Sudan’s people are enduring a “nightmare of violence, hunger and displacement,” with many suffering “unspeakable atrocities” such as widespread rapes. Guterres highlighted “shocking reports of mass killings and sexual violence” in villages across the Gezira province, where the UN and a medical group documented paramilitary attacks that killed over 120 people in a single town.
Guterres stressed that the nation’s military and paramilitary forces have escalated their assaults, with external powers “fuelling the fire,” worsening conditions of hunger and disease for millions. He warned that Sudan’s 18-month-long conflict has the potential to “ignite regional instability from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa to the Red Sea.”
Conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023 due to a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during preparations for a civilian government, creating a severe displacement crisis. Over 11 million people have been displaced, including three million who fled to neighboring countries. The conflict has claimed more than 24,000 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
