The UN special envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes announced his resignation to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, around three months after the Sudanese military-controlled government called for his removal.
Perthes warned the council that “what started as a conflict between two military formations could be morphing into a full-blown civil war,” accusing both sides of arbitrary arrests, torture, and killings of innocent civilians.
The conflict in Sudan is between the military government ruled by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The two Sudanese generals collaborated to overthrow the government in a 2021 coup but have since clashed over how to rule together.
Perthes has attempted to find a way forward toward peace among the warring factions. However, after an agreement that he brokered in December 2022 fell apart in April, de facto leader al-Burhan accused Perthes of exacerbating the conflict and said he was no longer welcome in Sudan. Member states are obligated to respect UN officials and are not authorized to remove them, according to the UN charter.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he would respect Perthes’ decision but urged the international community to condemn the escalating situation in Sudan.
“Unfortunately, we are witnessing a never-ending series of terrible fighting with dramatic impacts on [the] civilian population and this is absolutely intolerable,” he told the media on Wednesday. “What they are doing is not only the destruction of their own country, but it is a serious threat to regional peace and security.”