United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday called on all actors involved in the conflict in Sudan “to honour a Ramadan cessation of hostilities”.
“In just a few days, the holy month of Ramadan will begin. Today, during a (UN) Security Council meeting on Sudan, I made an appeal to all actors involved in the conflict to honour a Ramadan cessation of hostilities,” Guterres said on X.
“It is time to silence the guns and raise the volume for peace,” he added.
Sudan’s army welcomed the appeal but its rival Rapid Support Forces group did not immediately respond to the UN secretary general’s call.
Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, is expected to begin on either March 11 or 12 depending on the sighting of the new moon.
Next month will mark one year since the start of the war in Sudan which has left thousands of people dead and millions displaced.
The UN Security Council said on Thursday that the conflict was threatening to “further fragment the country, deepen tensions between and within communities and engender more ethnic violence”.
Reuters reported that the 15-member council was negotiating a British-drafted resolution that diplomats said could be put to a vote on Friday, March 8.
