UN warns Sudan conflict may become full scale war

The United Nations has warned that conflict-torn Sudan is on the brink of a “full-scale civil war” that could destabilise the entire region.

The warning came after an air strike on a residential area killed around 12 civilians.

Sudan’s Ministry of Health reported “22 dead and a large number of wounded among the civilians” from the strike on Khartoum’s sister city Omdurman, in the district of Dar al-Salam, which means “House of Peace” in Arabic.

Around 3,000 people have been killed in the conflict, with survivors reporting a wave of sexual violence and witnesses have spoken of ethnically targeted killings.

The UN has also warned that there had been widespread looting, and warned of possible crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.

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The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fighting the regular army, claimed that the strike killed 31.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement on Sunday by his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, condemned the air strike in Omdurman, which he said “reportedly killed at least 22 people.”

According to the statement, Guterres “remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the entire region.”

He added: “There is an utter disregard for humanitarian and human rights law that is dangerous and disturbing.”

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