UN says it is 'frustrated' by ceasefire violations in Sudan

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The UN said on Friday that it is "extremely frustrating" to see the fighting going on despite the ceasefire in Sudan.

Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group agreed to extend the humanitarian truce for 72 more hours starting from the end of the previous truce, but violence again erupted.

"It's frustrating for the UN, but it's devastating and tragic for the people of Sudan, for the people who are trying to go out and get food, for the people trying to flee, for the people trying to receive humanitarian aid and for our national colleagues who are trying to deliver that humanitarian aid," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"It is critical that the leaders of Sudan who are involved in this violence put the interests of the Sudanese people over their own personal interests."

Hundreds of people have died and thousands have fled for their lives in clashes between the army and RSF since April 15.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and paramilitaries concerning military security reform.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in what political forces called a "coup".