The United Nations has warned of an influx of refugees fleeing to Sudan's neighboring countries, as the fighting continues between the country's top military generals, DW reported.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said late on Monday that the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) was bracing, alongside governments and partners, "for the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighboring countries."
"We hope it doesn’t come to that, but if violence doesn’t stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety," Grandi said on Twitter.
Following air strikes in the capital of Khartoum, on Sunday the UN and other international interests appealed yet again for Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo to agree to a 72-hour ceasefire for another three days.
The situation in Sudan escalated amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the ruling Sovereignty Council, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), who is al-Burhan’s deputy on the council.
The main points of contention between the two military organizations are related to the timeline and methods of forming unified armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should become the commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is the option supported by al-Burhan, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists.
On April 15, clashes between the two structures erupted near a military base in Merowe and in the capital, Khartoum, and continued on Tuesday despite an earlier ceasefire. According to the country’s health ministry, more than 600 people have been killed in the country since the conflict broke out.
AMK/PR