UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has insisted that the organisation is not leaving Sudan as the war escalates with a number of countries scrambling to get their diplomatic staff and nationals out of the country.
Guterres said the UN will not abandon the people of Sudan in this hour of need and also urged the international community to help.
He called on Sudan Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and leader of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to sit around the table and stop the fighting.
France confirmed that it has rescued 500 people including its nationals and those from other countries.
It said there was a ship in Port Sudan to rescue 1 700 more people.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also confirmed that South Africa was to evacuate 77 of its nationals. But he said they would be rescuing people from other countries in the region trapped in Sudan.
Guterres, who was addressing the UN Security Council on Monday, said this was not the time to abandon the people of Sudan.
He said they were trying to make efforts to bring in aid to thousands of Sudanese people who faced a humanitarian crisis as they run out of essential supplies like food, medicine and other needs.
Guterres said the violence must come to an end.
“The violence must stop. It risks a catastrophic conflagration within Sudan that could engulf the whole region and beyond,” said Guterres.
“I strongly condemn the indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas, including health-care facilities. I call on the parties to stop combat operations in densely populated areas and to allow unhindered humanitarian aid operations. Civilians must be able to access food, water and other essential supplies, and evacuate from combat zones,” he said.
“I am in constant contact with the parties to the conflict and have called on them to de-escalate tensions and to return to the negotiating table.
“We will continue our efforts with our partners to secure a permanent halt to the fighting as soon as possible.
“Working with humanitarian organisations on the ground, we are reconfiguring our presence in Sudan to enable us to continue supporting the Sudanese people,” said Guterres.
“Let me be clear: the UN is not leaving Sudan. Our commitment is to the Sudanese people, in support of their wishes for a peaceful and secure future. We stand with them at this terrible time. I have authorised the temporary relocation both inside and outside Sudan of some UN personnel, and of families,” he added.
The UN and other countries must work to ensure they pull Sudan from the throes of a catastrophic chaos.
“We must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss,” said Guterres.
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