Quintet calls for measures to de-escalate war and prevent atrocities in Sudan

The five-member ‘Quintet’ committee (African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD, League of Arab States, European Union and United Nations) has called on all parties concerned to seize the opportunity presented by ongoing efforts to broker a humanitarian truce and de-escalate immediately, to prevent further loss of life and enable access to life-saving aid, as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.

In a press statement yesterday, the Quintet expresses its grave concern over the ongoing escalation of the conflict in the Sudan and called for the immediate cessation of any further military escalation.

The Committee expressed particular concern at the rapid deterioration of the situation of civilians in the Kordofan Region and Blue Nile state. It noted reports of deadly drone strikes, tightening sieges of population centres, attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, forced displacement and severe restrictions on humanitarian access. Those reports underscored the need for immediate action to prevent atrocities.

It also referred to the horrors witnessed in El Fasher, and the repeated warnings issued before these atrocities “which were not taken into account”, which led to serious consequences for civilians, and stressed that civilians should no longer bear the consequences of continued hostilities.

A call for collective efforts

The five-member committee underscored the need for coordinated and effective collective efforts, including from the most influential actors, to de-escalate the conflict, create conditions for the protection of civilians and stem the flow of arms, fighters and other forms of support that fuel violence and contribute to the fragmentation of Sudan.

It reiterated its commitment to Sudan’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity, and said it was committed to facilitating an inclusive Sudanese political dialogue aimed at ending the war and laying the foundations for a peaceful political transition.

Welcome from Sumud

In a separate statement, the Civic Democratic Alliance for Revolutionary Forces (Sumud) says that it held a meeting at the headquarters of the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, which included the five-member mechanism consisting of the African Union, IGAD, the United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League, and the delegation of the Civil Democratic Alliance for Revolutionary Forces (Sumud), which was chaired in this meeting by Babiker Faisal, Chairman of the Coalition’s Foreign Relations Committee.

In a statement, the coalition explained that the meeting discussed the proposal of the five-member mechanism to advance efforts to establish peace, where the Sumud delegation welcomed the proposals put forward by the mechanism, and expressed its readiness to deal positively with all initiatives aimed at stopping the war in the country. The delegation of Sumud presented its vision on how to establish peace and link the ceasefire tracks, the humanitarian track and political dialogue, and the coalition delegation stressed the importance of coordination between the five-party mechanism, the Quartet initiative and other countries that are involved in peace efforts such as Britain and Norway.

The meeting stressed the importance of accelerating efforts to stop the war and the need for the parties to the conflict to respond to the humanitarian truce proposals put to them, and stressed the continuation of consultation and communication to initiate a credible peace process under Sudanese ownership and leadership.

Tasees

For its part, the Sudan Constituent Alliance (Tasees) welcomed the call made by the Quintet, which called for de-escalation that is causing devastating harm to civilians.

However, Tasees was critical of the statement for referring to drone strikes that harmed civilians in Kordofan and Blue Nile, without specifying that civilians there are suffering as a result of the army’s use of drones against civilians. The statement also reprimanded the party that restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid and its crossing points and targets its convoys, accusing the armed forces of doing so.

On El Fasher, the statement held the armed forces responsible for what happened, accusing them of paying money to the joint force to get out of neutrality and fight alongside the army.

Civilians killed in mosque, school

On the ‘appalling’ situation on the ground in Sudan, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric expressed grave concern over the escalation of attacks, as airstrikes put civilians at grave risk and directly target humanitarian and public infrastructure.

Humanitarian workers in Sudan were quoted as saying that an airstrike by a drone bombarded a mosque in the El Rahad in North Kordofan state at dawn yesterday, killing two children and wounding 13 others, all students of the mosque’s school, according to information from the Sudan Doctors Network.

This follows a drone attack that bombed a primary school last night in the city of Dilling in South Kordofan state, where injuries were also reported.

Also last night, the World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state, was bombarded with missiles suspected of targeting it, causing extensive damage to buildings and mobile storage units.

In recent days, drone airstrikes have been reported in other areas of Southern, North and West Kordofan states, near major supply routes linking the northern Kordofan city of El Obeid to the towns of Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan.

Humanitarian efforts

In light of these worrying developments, the humanitarian efforts of the United Nations in cooperation with its partners continue. Yesterday, a UN convoy of 41 trucks carrying about 800 tonnes of food and other essential supplies set off from the city of El Obeid to Kadugli. The speaker described it as an important achievement on a road that was previously closed.

In South Kordofan, the UN and its partners have distributed some 600 metric tons of food to nearly 70,000 people, but the continued influx of displaced families is draining the limited stocks available.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 115,000 people have been displaced across the Kordofan region since late October.