A new diplomatic crisis erupted between Sudan and the UN after the Sudanese delegation to the Security Council meeting on the situation in the country stipulated on Wednesday the exclusion of the UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes.
Sudan accused the Special Representative of the Sec-Gen (SRSG) and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) of lacking neutrality and interfering in the country's internal affairs after Perthes submitted a report about the atrocities in the war raging since mid-April.
During the Security Council meeting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield denounced Perthes' absence: "We now know that the Sudanese government threatened to end the UN Mission in Sudan if the SRSG participated in this briefing."
She directed her speech to the Sudanese ambassador al-Harith al-Idriss saying it "was really outrageous, and I did make that point in the Council. No country should be able to bully a briefer into silence, let alone the United Nations."
Sudan denies
The Sudanese delegate denied the accusation, saying the Sudanese mission to the UN did not send a message threatening to boycott the Security Council session.
But Thomas-Greenfeld later repeated her accusation in front of reporters at the UN headquarters.
"We were told that Volker would be briefing the Council. And this morning, his name was pulled. And we understand that that happened because the Sudanese government threatened to pull UNITAMS out of Sudan if he briefed the Council," she said, describing the behavior as "outrageous" and "unacceptable."
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq said that Perthes no longer represents the UN in Sudan, calling on the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to speed up the appointment of a substitute.
Al-Sadiq explained that Perthes did not attend the session because Sudan objected to his participation, emphasizing that the step was not a blackmail or threat to any party.
He said the objection was merely a legal right of the country.
Weapons shipment
The Sudanese army seized on Thursday a shipment of weapons en route to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the border of the Butana region with the east of the country.
In a press circular on the official Facebook page, the army stated that the intelligence of the 11th Infantry Division in the Khashm al-Qurba area seized three cars loaded with weapons.
The army is tightening control over the ports and land routes between the eastern region along the Butana Plain to Khartoum, where battles occur between the two parties.
Clashes continue
Meanwhile, clashes continued between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum.
Eyewitnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that heavy artillery could be heard in the city, near the army's point in Bahri.
The Rapid Support Forces announced the defection of a new group of officers and soldiers of the Army's Sixth Division in el-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur state.
The RSF said in a statement that thousands of forces joined their ranks, and they will form the nucleus of the professional national army that includes all Sudanese.
They renewed their call to the members of the Sudanese Armed Forces to align themselves with the people's will to eliminate the remnants of the ousted regime and rebuild the state.
Troika countries
The Troika: Norway, the UK, and the US condemned in the strongest terms the ongoing violence in Darfur, especially reports of killings based on ethnicity and widespread sexual violence by the RSF and allied militias.
"We call on all parties to immediately cease attacks and prevent the further spread of fighting. Those responsible must be held to account. Full access to conflict-affected areas must be granted so that abuses can be properly investigated and life-saving humanitarian aid can reach survivors who urgently need it."
The statement asserted the Troika's concern about reports of a military build-up near El Fasher, North Darfur, and Nyala, South Darfur, where further violence will put more civilians at risk.
The statement warned that expanding the needless and ruinous conflict between RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces SAF to Darfur had caused incalculable human suffering.
"We remind the parties of the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law related to protecting civilians. We call on all parties to the conflict to enable humanitarian access in Darfur and throughout the country”, added the statement.
