Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Pekka Haavisto said the situation in El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state, had become increasingly concerning in recent days amid ongoing hostilities and frequent drone strikes.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe are alarmed of the ongoing hostilities around the city, including frequent drone strikes,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are already affecting the civilians and affecting humanitarian aid to the city. Any further escalation of the situation would place thousands of people at risk<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n The envoy drew parallels with previous crises in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and around El Fasher, where violence against civilians triggered large-scale humanitarian disasters.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, the situation reminds us a little bit of the earlier developments in Darfur and around El Fasher and reminds that there are immediate risks for the civilian population<\/strong>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mr. Haavisto revealed that he had spoken by telephone on Friday with General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), regarding developments in El Obeid. According to the envoy, Hemedti assured him that civilians would not be targeted.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cHe confirmed to me that his intention is not to harm the civilians, and his intention is to protect the humanitarian corridors to the city,\u201d Mr. Haavisto said. \u201cThis is something that we have to now follow as exactly as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n The envoy stressed that the conflict across Sudan continues unabated and warned that the growing use of drones was adding a dangerous new dimension to the war<\/strong>. He noted an increase in drone attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly the using of the drones as part of the conflict has been increasing, and the drone attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure have been increasing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mr. Haavisto also pointed to the international dimensions of the conflict, noting that the drones being used are not produced in Sudan.<\/p>\n Despite the continuing violence, Haavisto highlighted what he described as a positive development in the political sphere amid the ongoing war between the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) that erupted in April 2023.<\/p>\n He said that the Quintet \u2013\u00a0which\u00a0comprises\u00a0the African Union (AU), East African bloc IGAD, the League of Arab States,\u00a0the European Union (EU)\u00a0and the UN\u00a0\u2013\u00a0had successfully convened meetings bringing together Sudanese political parties, political groups and civil society organizations.<\/p>\n The first meeting was held in Berlin earlier this year, followed by another gathering in Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first time in three years when political parties and political actors are coming together and trying to solve the conflict and trying to find a common ground for the peace process in Sudan,\u201d he said. \u201cI think this is already good news.\u201d<\/p>\n The envoy said he plans to continue engaging Sudanese stakeholders and regional actors, including through visits to Nairobi and consultations with Chad, South Sudan and Uganda, all of which play a role in the conflict.<\/p>\n Mr. Haavisto reiterated the UN\u2019s support for efforts by the \u201cQuad\u201d group \u2014 the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt \u2014 to secure a humanitarian truce.<\/p>\n \u201cOur hope is that the Quad could advance with the humanitarian truce, which would help a lot the civilian situation on the ground,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Asked whether there was hope for ending the conflict, Mr. Haavisto acknowledged that both sides still appeared to believe military gains were possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like both of the parties still think that something can be achieved militarily in this conflict,\u201d he said. \u201cConflict unfortunately only goes on as long as somebody thinks that he or she or the group can achieve something through military means.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, he said regional governments increasingly reject the idea of a military solution.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very clear message that they don\u2019t believe that a military solution is doable in this conflict,\u201d Mr. Haavisto said after recent visits to Gulf countries.<\/p>\n While recognizing the immense challenges ahead, the UN envoy said the resilience of ordinary Sudanese citizens continues to provide grounds for cautious optimism. He cited women calling for reconciliation despite enduring severe abuses, and communities beginning to rebuild their lives in parts of Khartoum.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have very good capabilities after the conflict still to invest in their life and livelihoods,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that raises some optimism in this desperate situation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Pekka Haavisto said the situation in El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state, had become increasingly concerning in recent days amid ongoing hostilities and frequent drone strikes. \u00a0\u201cWe are alarmed of the ongoing hostilities around the city, including frequent drone strikes,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are already 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GLOBAL NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Pekka Haavisto said the situation in El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state, had become increasingly concerning in recent days amid ongoing hostilities and frequent drone strikes. \u00a0\u201cWe are alarmed of the ongoing hostilities around the city, including frequent drone strikes,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are already…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31066,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31064\/revisions\/31066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Drone attacks add new risks<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Political talks resume after three years<\/strong><\/h2>\n
No military solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n