As the flames of war continue to engulf Sudan, Pakistan has called for an immediate ceasefire, protection of civilians, and unfettered humanitarian access, leading to a peaceful political transition that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people.
“There is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council on Monday.
“The only durable path forward lies in a political dialogue and reconciliation,” he said during a debate on the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan.
The conflict erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since then, fighting has spread nationwide, devastating cities, displacing millions, and pushing parts of the country – including areas of Darfur – into famine conditions.
“Sudan’s crisis is deepening, and the cost is being paid most acutely by the civilians. Even the United Nations peacekeepers have not been spared,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council.
In this regard, Ambassador Jadoon condemned last week’s deadly drone attack on the peacekeepers serving UNISFA (United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei) deployed in the disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan. “We convey our deepest condolences to the Government and people of Bangladesh, and to the families of the six fallen peacekeepers, and wish a swift recovery to those injured.”
Pointing out that the attack did not occur in a vacuum, he said the Secretary-General’s latest report had warned of the growing threats to peacekeepers, including the persistent encroachment of RSF in UNISFA’s operating environment. Earlier this year, RSF kidnapped 60 peacekeepers and seized UN assets and fuel trucks, he said, urging the Council to ensure that peacekeepers are not left exposed to predictable threats without consequence for those who attack them.
RSF, he added, has also been on a rampage, including the killing of children in a kindergarten and attacks on schools and hospitals in Kordofan, a region in central Sudan, after the atrocities in Al-Genina and El-Fasher.
“Before El-Fasher fell, this Council and the broader international community were warned, repeatedly, of the consequences of inaction,” the Pakistani envoy said, pointing out that Security Council Resolution 2736 demanded that the siege of El-Fasher be lifted and called for the protection of civilians and humanitarian access.
“Yet we saw defiance on the ground, followed by catastrophic outcomes, undermining the credibility of the Council,” he said.
“The lessons from these massacres are clear: where siege tactics, starvation, indiscriminate attacks against civilians are not stopped, more grave atrocities follow.”
Ambassador Jadoon underscored the need for providing sustained, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access by all parties, with humanitarian routes kept open and protected.
Pakistan, he said, had consistently encouraged the Council to welcome the Sudanese Government’s steps in pursuance of its transitional roadmap, including the appointment of Prime Minister Kamil Idress and his technocratic cabinet tasked with alleviating humanitarian suffering and advancing an inclusive political transition.
The Pakistani envoy called for the preservation of Sudan’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity; rejection of any so-called parallel government or structures; ensuring greater complementarity between the various peace initiatives and maintaining zero tolerance for war crimes, including attacks against UN peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.
Briefing the Security Council on Monday, senior UN political and humanitarian officials described a sharply deteriorating security and humanitarian situation marked by indiscriminate attacks, expanding territorial gains by RSF, and escalating dangers for civilians, aid workers, and peacekeepers.
Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari said fears that the dry season would bring intensified fighting had been confirmed.
“Each passing day brings staggering levels of violence and destruction,” Khiari told the Council. “Civilians are enduring immense, unimaginable suffering, with no end in sight.”
In recent weeks, the conflict has centred on the Kordofan region, where the RSF has made significant territorial gains, capturing Babanusa in West Kordofan on 1 December, followed a week later by the seizure of Heglig in South Kordofan – a key oil field and processing hub for South Sudanese crude exports.
Kadugli and Dilling, both in South Kordofan, are now under tightening siege conditions, with shelling and drone strikes continuing. Reports indicate that SAF personnel withdrew from some areas into South Sudan, while South Sudanese forces moved into Sudan to protect the Heglig oil infrastructure.
“These developments reflect the increasingly complex nature of the conflict and its expanding regional dimensions,” Khiari warned, cautioning that Sudan’s neighbours could be drawn into a wider war if the situation remains unaddressed.
A particularly alarming trend, UN officials said, is the growing use of drones by both sides. On 4 December, a kindergarten in Kalogi, South Kordofan, was struck, followed by an attack on the hospital treating the victims.
“More than 100 people were killed in this despicable attack, including 63 children,” Khiari said.
Drone attacks have also directly targeted UN personnel. On 13 December, strikes hit a UN logistics base in Kadugli, killing six Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and injuring nine others.
UNISFA has launched an investigation under difficult security conditions, while all UN personnel have been evacuated from Kadugli until further notice. Khiari stressed that attacks against peacekeepers “may constitute war crimes” and demanded accountability.
Edem Wosornu, Director of Crisis Response at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said civilian suffering was expanding across multiple fronts, with Kordofan emerging as a new epicentre of humanitarian need.
In addition to targeting civilians, aid workers and convoys were also struck – injuring humanitarians, severely affecting lifesaving programmes, and forcing UN agencies and NGOs to relocate staff from several locations due to insecurity.