THE African Union’s Special Envoy on the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, Adama Dieng, has urged Sudan’s warring factions to de-escalate their conflict to prevent further civilian casualties. Addressing the situation on Tuesday, Dieng condemned the escalating violence in Sudan’s Al-Jazirah State, where mass killings, torture, abductions, sexual assaults, and other grave crimes have been reported.
Dieng emphasised the urgent need to combat hate speech and inflammatory rhetoric, which, he stated, has reached ‘intolerable levels’ in the conflict. The ongoing communications blackout across many regions in Sudan, he added, is making it difficult to assess the full scale of the violence, which has claimed over 60,000 lives since the conflict erupted in April 2023.
The envoy called on Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief General Mohamed Dagalo, also known as ‘Hemedti,’ to halt their fighting and stop inciting racial hatred and violence. He urged both leaders to ‘abide by international humanitarian law and protect civilian lives.’
Dieng’s appeal comes amid heightened violence following the defection of an RSF commander, Abu Aqla Keikil, to the SAF in late October, sparking retaliatory attacks by the RSF on villages in Al-Jazirah. Dieng condemned these reprisal attacks, noting they often target civilians and members of Keikil’s ethnic community. These actions have forced residents to flee on foot for days, often without food or shelter, and have led to widespread family separations.
The violence has escalated further with reports of civilian militias mobilising and arming themselves, which Dieng described as a ‘disturbing new development in the cycle of violence.’ He expressed grave concern over the rise in violent incidents, noting that civilians bear the brunt of the fighting, which threatens to plunge Sudan into further chaos.
‘Sudan is witnessing atrocity crimes on an unimaginable scale,’ said Dieng. ‘It is the duty of the international community to halt the fighting and protect the Sudanese people from indiscriminate violence.’ He called for impartial investigations into all alleged human rights violations and stressed that ‘accountability must be pursued to break the cycle of violence.’
Dieng’s plea for intervention echoes recent warnings from the International Crisis Group (ICG), which cautions that both SAF and RSF forces appear to believe they can improve their battlefield positions rather than pursue peace. This perspective risks prolonging Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, according to the ICG, which advocates for urgent external intervention to broker a ceasefire.
The ICG has urged influential regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE to apply diplomatic pressure on the SAF and RSF to cease hostilities. Without a ceasefire, the ICG warns, Sudan risks spiralling into a state of collapse that could destabilise the broader region for years to come.
As Sudan endures its deadliest period of the conflict so far, the AU has reiterated its commitment to promoting peace and human rights across the nation. ‘The foundations of the international system are being tested by the indiscriminate violence experienced by the people of Sudan,’ said Dieng, expressing solidarity with the Sudanese people and pledging the AU’s ongoing support for stability in Sudan.
