UN envoy to Sudan quits, says country on brink of full-fledged '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 Security Council, warning that the conflict between Sudan’s rival military leaders “could be morphing into a full-scale civil war”.

Volker Perthes, who had continued to work outside Sudan, said on Wednesday the fighting showed no sign of abating, with neither side appearing close to “a decisive military victory.” He also said 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 Gen. Abdel Fattah al Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting in mid-April.

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 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 militias on civilians, mostly African communities, Perthes said.

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

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

“And more than 6 million people are now just one step away from famine,” she said. “If the fighting continues, this potential tragedy comes closer to reality every day.”

The fighting has forced 4.1 million people to flee their homes to other places in Sudan and more than 1 million to seek refuge in neighboring countries, Wosornu said, stressing that displacement and insecurity “have driven cases of sexual violence to distressing levels.”

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 June 8 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 UN 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.

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