UN Chief Warns Gaza War May Aggravate Threats to Global Peace, Security

People watch as others search for victims amid the rubble of a smouldering building, following an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 6, 2023. (AFP)
People watch as others search for victims amid the rubble of a smouldering building, following an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 6, 2023. (AFP)
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UN Chief Warns Gaza War May Aggravate Threats to Global Peace, Security

People watch as others search for victims amid the rubble of a smouldering building, following an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 6, 2023. (AFP)
People watch as others search for victims amid the rubble of a smouldering building, following an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 6, 2023. (AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council on Wednesday that the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip "may aggravate existing threats to international peace and security."

Guterres invoked the rarely used Article 99 of the founding UN Charter that allows him to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

"We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region," Guterres wrote in a letter to the 15-member council.

"Such an outcome must be avoided at all cost," he said.



Sudan’s Burhan Rules Out Peace Before Defeating RSF

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)
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Sudan’s Burhan Rules Out Peace Before Defeating RSF

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets his supporters in Omdurman, west of Khartoum, Sudan (File photo - AP)

Sudan’s transitional Sovereign Council leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has pledged to press on with the war until the entire country is “liberated,” and vowed to eradicate what he called “the militia, their agents, and collaborators.”

He accused “colonial powers” of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with money, weapons, and mercenaries.

Speaking in Mauritania on Tuesday, Burhan said the fighting would not cease until “every inch desecrated by these criminals” is reclaimed.

He vowed to continue military operations until “all cities, villages, and rural areas in our beloved Sudan are freed,” according to a statement from the Sovereign Council’s media office.

Burhan said his country’s ties with domestic and foreign parties depend on their stance toward the ongoing war.

Burhan is on a tour of African nations, including Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Mauritania. Observers say the trip aims to restore Sudan’s African Union membership, suspended after the October 2021 coup, and rally support against the RSF.

Speaking in Mauritania, Burhan vowed to defeat the RSF, accusing them of crimes under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to as Hemedti, and called for unity to end his influence.

“Our message is on the battlefield, not through words, until these criminals are eliminated,” he said.

Burhan insisted peace is only possible if the RSF and their allies are removed. “We support peace, but only if these Janjaweed and their mercenaries no longer exist,” he stated.

He described the conflict as a “battle for dignity,” saying it is a fight to protect the honor and homes of Sudanese citizens.