By John Ikani
UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, has officially announced his resignation, citing grave concerns over the escalating Sudan conflict.
In a briefing to the UN Security Council, he warned of the increasing risk of the conflict, which began in April when rival military factions clashed, transforming into a full-blown civil war.
Perthes’ resignation comes more than three months after Sudan declared him persona non grata in the wake of the war.
In his farewell address to the Security Council, Mr. Perthes spared no criticism for Sudan’s military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF chief, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti.
He firmly attributed the country’s descent into war to these two leaders, resulting in a sorrowful trail of human rights violations.
The RSF bore the brunt of blame for acts of sexual violence, looting, and killings within the areas under its control, while the Sudanese armed forces faced condemnation for their indiscriminate aerial bombings.
Even as Mr. Perthes addressed the council, medics in Darfur’s city of Nyala grappled with the aftermath of yet another gruesome incident. Air strikes claimed the lives of forty individuals, adding to the tragic tally of more than fifty deaths from the preceding Sunday.
The RSF fighters have strategically positioned themselves within densely populated urban areas, a situation that appears to be interpreted by the Sudanese military as a legitimate target, contributing to the escalation of violence.
