UN official urges immediate halt to drone strikes in Sudan

WASHINGTON — Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN under-secretary-general for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, has called for an immediate end to drone strikes in Sudan, Arab News reported on Saturday. It said she warned that neither side wants to negotiate.

According to Arab News, DiCarlo said Sudan's warring parties remain unwilling to negotiate, even though neither has won a military victory. The outlet said this raises concerns about further escalation in the coming months.

Assessment of the conflict

Arab News reported that DiCarlo told the council conditions in Sudan are worsening. It said she described little chance of a breakthrough and no significant progress in recent months.

Fighting has been especially intense in North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, according to the report. It said the violence is now spreading beyond those areas.

DiCarlo identified drone strikes as the main cause of civilian casualties this year, Arab News said. She called for the attacks to stop and for stricter controls on the use of drones.

She also voiced concern about continuing arms flows into Sudan and about recruitment by both sides, according to the outlet. Arab News said she suggested military leaders appear to believe they can reach their aims by force rather than dialogue, as long as they keep receiving foreign support.

DiCarlo urged the warring parties to reconsider and asked outside actors to use their influence to help end the conflict rather than prolong it, the report said. She also pointed to growing insecurity along Sudan's borders, given instability in neighbouring countries, and said preventing a wider regional crisis must remain a shared priority.

Diplomatic efforts

Arab News reported that DiCarlo said the UN continues to coordinate with the Quad to try to secure a humanitarian truce. The UN is ready to help implement any agreement, she said, and further delays are unacceptable, according to the outlet.

She noted modest progress through the work of Pekka Haavisto, the UN secretary-general's personal envoy for Sudan. Arab News said both parties have formed committees to consider releasing detainees unilaterally and have negotiated prisoner exchanges.

Haavisto is working with UNICEF so Sudanese students can sit a unified, nationally recognised 12th-grade exam, the report said. Talks with Chad continue on arrangements for Sudanese refugee students.

According to Arab News, partners in the Quintet visited Khartoum in early September to consult Sudanese stakeholders, who repeatedly called for an end to the war and a return to civilian rule. DiCarlo welcomed the first joint meeting of the Quintet and the Quad during the UN General Assembly's high-level week in September. A Sudan Consultative Group meeting in Geneva next week will bring together both groups and other mediators, the outlet said.

Marking the anniversary of the fall of El-Fasher, DiCarlo called for more pressure on the warring parties and their supporters, according to Arab News. It said she stressed that accountability is essential.

Reactions

Arab News said US Deputy Representative Jeff Bartos called for a humanitarian truce and an end to arms flows into Sudan. He pledged continued efforts to expand sanctions, according to the report. He described the Quintet's work as the most credible route to a political transition under civilian leadership, it said.

Background

DiCarlo's assessment followed an announcement by Sudanese army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan that he had sent a message to US President Donald Trump, Arab News reported. The message affirmed Sudan's commitment to US-backed peace efforts, according to the outlet.

Arab News said Washington has not publicly responded. It added that Al-Burhan met Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, in Egypt earlier this month.

The outlet published an AFP photograph of Mohamed Ali Hamza, 29, who was injured in airstrikes on a gold mine on the Sudan-Egypt border on 11 October. He was receiving treatment in Wad al-Hulaywah, Kassala State, on 16 October, according to the caption.

Arab News did not identify which parties carried out specific drone strikes. The report does not give casualty figures.