Guterres Presses for securing a humanitarian truce in El Fasher

The Citizen

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Saturday that he had contacted the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to reach a humanitarian truce in El Fasher, North Darfur, western Sudan.

The humanitarian situation in El Fasher, which has been under siege by the RSF since April 2024, has deteriorated. Some life-saving goods and medicines are scarce, while fighting has destroyed commercial, health, and educational activities.

In a press statement, Guterres said that he is “in contact with the warring parties in Sudan to secure a humanitarian truce that will address the tragic situation in El Fasher.”

He indicated that he had contacted the army and the RSF with the aim of “achieving a truce in El Fasher.”

On Friday, Head of the Sovereignty Council, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, agreed to Guterres’ request for a week-long ceasefire in El Fasher to allow aid deliveries. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have rejected any truce.

Guterres explained that he received a positive response from Burhan regarding the truce, stressing the need for the army and the RSF to recognize “the importance of avoiding the catastrophe we are witnessing in El Fasher.”

He called for a truce to be agreed upon in advance to allow for the distribution of aid, with the aim of preparing for a massive aid delivery operation to El Fasher.

The Secretary-General recalled the bombing of a large aid convoy from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) some time ago, warning that the people of the area are “starving and in a very difficult situation.”

Residents of El Fasher queue up outside small oil factories to obtain “embaz,” the peanut residue left over after oil extraction. It has become the only food available to the vulnerable, even though it is used as livestock feed.