ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s UN envoy has demanded a political dialogue and an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, where fierce fighting has raged on for months between the military and a powerful paramilitary force.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting, with widespread mass killings and rapes, and ethnically motivated violence. This has amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the UN and international rights groups.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamal Idris, who heads its transitional civilian government, proposed a peace plan on Monday. Idris said his plan includes a ceasefire monitored by the United Nations, African Union and Arab League, and the withdrawal of paramilitary forces from all areas they occupy, their placement in supervised camps and their disarmament.
“There is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan,” Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s deputy ambassador at the United Nations, said on Monday. “The only durable path forward lies in a political dialogue and reconciliation.”
Jadoon said Pakistan supports all genuine efforts and political processes aimed at achieving an immediate cessation of hostilities and ceasefire, protecting civilians and providing unfettered humanitarian access to civilians.
