By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the ceasefire in Gaza as "fragile" and "repeatedly violated" Wednesday while appealing for it to be respected and used to advance peace efforts.
"The ceasefire in Gaza is fragile, is repeatedly violated, but it is holding. And I strongly appeal for the ceasefire to be fully respected and to pave the way for the negotiations of phase two, leading to the creation of the conditions for the self-determination of the Palestinian people and the creation of the two-state solution," Guterres said at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.
Saying that humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip are expanding despite continuing obstacles, he said: "We are indeed, at the present moment, substantially increasing, even still, with some obstacles and difficulties that are not yet removed, that we are substantially increasing our humanitarian aid in Gaza."
"And the next steps for the UN will be, of course, defined by the Security Council," he added.
Guterres' remarks came at a joint news conference with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf after the 9th African Union-UN annual conference.
"Today, Africa is home to too many conflicts and too much suffering," he said, expressing deep concern over "recent reports of mass atrocities and gross human rights violations in (Sudan’s) El-Fasher and worsening violence in (North) Kordofan."
Saying that "the flow of weapons and fighters from external parties must be cut off," he called for the immediate flow of humanitarian aid for civilians in need in Sudan.
"I call on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to engage with my Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and take swift, tangible steps toward a negotiated settlement," he added.
- 'No genocide in northern Nigeria'
Responding to a question on US President Donald Trump's accusation of "killings of Christians in Nigeria," Youssouf said: "Let me say this first: There is no genocide in northern Nigeria."
"What's going on in the northern part of Nigeria has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we see in Sudan or in some part of eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo)," he added.
Demanding to "think twice” before making such accusations about Nigeria due to the "complexity" of the situation, Youssouf said: "The complexity in the northern part of Nigeria should not be taken that easily."
On Nov. 1, Trump declared that he had ordered the Pentagon to develop options for possible military measures against terrorist groups in Nigeria to protect Christian communities there.
He said that if the Nigerian government "continues to allow the killing of Christians," Washington would immediately cut all aid, adding that the US could "go into that now disgraced country, 'guns-a-blazing.’”
Nigeria rejected the claims, saying there cannot be “religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape or form by the government of Nigeria.”
"At any level—be it federal, be it regional, be it local—it's impossible," said Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar.
In Nigeria, security is threatened by a mix of terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and ISWAP, as well as armed gangs, ethnic militias like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and herder-farmer conflicts often rooted in economic and social tensions.