Sudan calls for immediate withdrawal of UN peacekeepers

Peacekeeping - UNMIS

Sudan has called for the immediate withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Horn of Africa country.

In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the Sudanese military government demanded the UN’s mission, known as the Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), be discontinued immediately.

The letter was obtained by dpa on Friday.

The mission has more than 400 mainly civilian employees

The government said that while it called for the withdrawal, it was committed to constructive engagement with the UN.

An armed conflict broke out in the country in mid-April.

The conflict involved fighting between the army, led by de facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary under Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

The two generals had jointly seized power in a coup in 2021 but fell out over how to share control.

Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee told a Security Council meeting on Thursday said there was no sign of de-escalation in the conflict.

“Sudan is facing a convergence of a worsening humanitarian calamity and a catastrophic human rights crisis, with more than 2,000 civilians killed since fighting erupted in April.

“It is high time that the warring sides recognise the futility of continued fighting and prioritise dialogue and de-escalation,’’ she said.

The UN mission in the country has existed since 2020.

In September UN Special Envoy for Sudan Volker Perthes announced his resignation.

The German diplomat was declared persona non grata by Sudan’s Foreign Ministry in June and effectively barred from the country.

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