'Need accountability for inteference': UN chief targets countries fuelling Sudan war, selling weapons

UN secretary-general António Guterres called on Wednesday for countries supplying weapons to the warring parties in Sudan to be held accountable, amid reports of arms being used to attack civilians."What is happening in Sudan is absolutely horrible. The humanitarian situation in Sudan is devastating. The level of suffering of the Sudanese people is intolerable", he said to reporters.Sudan's war broke out in April 2023 following a power struggle between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, and has since displaced more than 14 million people, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.Guterres acknowledged the role played by outside powers in prolonging the conflict."It is true that the conflict is fueled by a number of countries from the outside," he said. "In my opinion, there should be accountability for the kind of interference in which some countries provide weapons to parties to a conflict when those weapons are used massively to attack civilians."Guterres’s remarks came after a UN fact-finding mission said earlier this month that foreign weapons, military technology, fighters and logistical networks were helping sustain the conflict in Sudan, and were expanding the ability of the warring parties to strike distant civilian areas using drones.The toll of the war extends beyond the battlefield, with reports of at least 70 small-scale miners killed after a gold mine collapsed in West Kordofan, a region under the control of the Rapid Support Forces.Gold mining has become a key source of revenue for the warring groups that have pushed increasing numbers of Sudanese into dangerous artisanal mining, as the conflict devastates the country's economy.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.