Sudan crisis: UN envoy on the struggle to de-escalate ‘enormous tensions’, delays to humanitarian aid and staff ‘held at gunpoint’

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2023

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“None of the ceasefires have been respected in total,” Volker Perthes, the United Nations special representative for Sudan, has told Sky News.

As Sudan’s political centre collapses under the chaos of urban warfare, Mr Perthes is regrouping with his team in the new peacetime capital of Port Sudan.

In an exclusive TV interview, Sky News sat down with Mr Perthes to discuss the points of contention in a crisis that has rapidly swallowed the country – killing hundreds of people and displacing millions of people in the first two weeks.

As the man at the helm of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Mr Perthes is often perceived to be the main mediator between the Sudanese parties vying for power since former military dictator Omar al Bashir was ousted in 2019.

After sustained pro-democracy protests, army chief Abdel-Fattah al Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed “Hemedti” Dagalo partnered to remove their former ally al Bashir.

In January 2021, Mr Perthes was assigned by the UN to assist with the transition to democratic elections. In October 2021 a military coup staged by the generals brought this transition to a deadly pause.

During this period, both men and the civilian political opposition they have wrestled with for command of the country, have had a seat at his negotiation table.

“In the last two weeks, there was no table to negotiate,” said Mr Perthes. “When we still were speaking about a political process, they were all in the room – signatory, civilian, military, non-signatories in different forms. Now, we have been speaking individually to them.”

In the first few days of fighting, presidents from Djibouti, South Sudan and Juba offered to fly to Khartoum and lead mediation efforts.

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In a recent interview with Sky News, army chief al Burhan said that the climate of clashes was not suitable for their arrival.

Now, there are discussions of peace talks being held in a neighbouring country like Saudi Arabia, UAE or South Sudan.

“The idea is to actually bring them physically together to agree face-to-face on some of the modalities of a ceasefire – which is more than just a declaration of ‘we’re going to stop the fighting’,” Mr Perthes said.

‘How could you let this happen?’

In the past two weeks, Mr Perthes’ mission has been a target of anger and frustration. Those who believe he overestimated the generals ask “how could you let this happen?”, and those who believe he underestimated the generals ask “how could you not see this coming?”

“We saw enormous tensions between the leadership and the RSF leadership, and we struggled particularly in the last two weeks before 15 April – before the outbreak of hostilities – to de-escalate,” Mr Perthes said.

“But of course, we did not see it coming Saturday morning.”

Like the forensic timeline of a brutal crime scene, Mr Perthes detailed the 24 hours before that shocking morning.

“We knew there was a risk of an outbreak of hostilities. We warned against it on Friday afternoon. We thought we, others and civilian actors from the Sudan had reached some progress because the two leaders had agreed on forming a military committee which was supposed to meet Saturday morning,” he said.

“So we went to bed and said well, maybe we have de-escalated it a little bit – and then we were woken up by the fighting.”

‘Stock of humanitarian aid was looted’

Early on Sunday, the first signs of international relief arrived at Port Sudan in the form of eight tonnes of humanitarian cargo sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

A two-week lag time that I asked him to explain.

“Much of the humanitarian aid which we had in stock was looted,” he said.

“All the warehouses, WFP [World Food Programme], UNHCR [UN Refugee Agency] and others in Darfur were looted. Vehicles from the humanitarian agencies were looted. The offices of my own mission as well as offices, agencies in most of the towns of Darfur were looted. Food trucks were looted.

“WFP lost like 4,000 metric tons of humanitarian goods. So if all this is looted – you cannot distribute it.”

Also at the port, are white containers stamped with the UN logo and rows of UN-branded armoured vehicles.

UN staff and personnel involved in the mission have also faced extreme dangers, Mr Perthes said.

“Staff members were held at gunpoint. Staff members were thrown out of their houses by armed fighters who took positions, and houses were broken into. We had at least one case of attempted sexual assault… on a female staff member. Many of the houses and apartments were hit by stray shells and bullets.”

In the first week of fighting, three WFP staff members were killed in north Darfur and as a result the WFP suspended all operations in the country.

“We are trying to get humanitarian supplies in,” Mr Perthes said.

“What we need to resume humanitarian activities is a ceasefire – a ceasefire that holds – and then we can start again.”

World

Iran’s response to Israeli strikes a ‘matter of principle’, ambassador to UK says

Published

6 hours ago

June 15, 2025

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Iran's response to Israeli strikes a 'matter of principle', ambassador to UK says

Iran’s response to Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities is “self-defence” and a “matter of principle”, the Iranian ambassador to the UK has told Sky News.

Speaking exclusively to The World With Yalda Hakim, Seyed Ali Mousavi said the “barbaric Israeli regime” is “violating international law” – describing Israel’s actions in recent days as “an act of aggression against the Iranian people”.

The conflict between Israel and Iran – once played out in a series of proxy wars – has escalated in the past three days.

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On Friday morning, explosions hit Tehran as Israel carried out a major attack on its top army leaders, nuclear sites, and nuclear scientists.

Iran threatened “severe punishment” and quickly retaliated with a wave of missiles.

When questioned about whether Iran could continue fighting Israel, the Iranian ambassador told Yalda Hakim that “it is a matter of principle”.

He said: “This is about self-defence, there is no doubt about it.

“We are a responsible member state of the UN and we do all activities according to our international obligations.

“Any activities are only in the framework of self-defence.”

He added that his country would “do our best to preserve our territorial integrity”, and that “with the help of God”, Iran will “materialise endeavours concretely against our enemy – the Israeli regime”.

Mr Mousavi also told Hakim that Iran’s nuclear activities are “monitored”, and that recent comments by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were “politically motivated”.

The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors found Iran was not complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years.

Iran said it has “always adhered” to the safeguarding obligations laid down by the watchdog.

Announcing Operation Rising Lion on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran had recently taken steps to weaponise enriched uranium, which could be used to make nuclear weapons.

But Mr Mousavi stressed that Iran’s “peaceful activities” at its “nuclear fields” were only for the “generation of electricity, and other peaceful” things.

Iran was due to continue its round of negotiations with the US in Muscat – however, this was cancelled, given recent tensions.

World

UK government advises against all travel to Israel

Published

16 hours ago

June 15, 2025

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UK government advises against all travel to Israel

The government is warning people not to travel to Israel under any circumstances, as the country’s missile exchange with Iran shows no sign of abating.

On Friday, the Foreign Office warned against “all but essential travel” to most of Israel.

The areas around Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights were already classed as red zones, with warnings to avoid travel to these areas.

But the government has now updated the warning for the remainder of the country to red.

Follow live: Tehran and Israel exchange strikes

This puts Israel on the same level as Iran, and the change of advice is also likely to impact travel insurance.

However, with Israel’s airspace closed, it is unlikely many people will be attempting the journey, and Israel’s national airline El Al has announced it is cancelling flights to and from many European cities, as well as Tokyo and Moscow, until 23 June.

The change in travel advice comes after a second night of ballistic missile barrages from Iran following Israel’s attack in the early hours of Friday morning.

On Sunday morning, Israel’s health ministry said 12 people had been killed over the past day, taking the total since Friday to 15. It also said 385 people had arrived at hospital with injuries overnight.

Iran has not provided a total number of deaths or overall casualties, but has claimed dozens have been killed.

Iran’s health minister has said most of those injured and killed in Israeli strikes were civilians. According to comments carried by news agency IRNA, he said the majority were women and children.

What is the UK doing?

The UK government is sending military assets, including fighter jets, to the Middle East.

While the prime minister would not confirm to reporters that UK forces could be used to defend Israel from future Iranian attacks, the chancellor told Sky News earlier that the government is “not ruling anything out”.

Speaking to Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Rachel Reeves said sending military assets to the Middle East “does not mean that we are at war”, and emphasised that “we have not been involved in these strikes or this conflict”.

“But we do have important assets in the region,” she continued. “And it is right that we send jets to protect them. And that’s what we’ve done. It’s a precautionary move, and at the same time, we are urging de-escalation.”

Pushed on the question of what the UK would do if Israel asked for support with its operations, the chancellor replied: “I’m not going to rule anything out at this stage. It’s a fast-moving situation, a very volatile situation. But we don’t want to see escalation.”

World

Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India, killing seven people

Published

16 hours ago

June 15, 2025

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Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India, killing seven people

A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims has crashed in India, killing seven people on board.

The accident happened within minutes of the helicopter taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.

The helicopter was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

It comes three days after an Air India flight crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in northwestern India, killing at least 270 people.

The helicopter, which was operated by private helicopter service Aryan Aviation, went down in a forested area several miles from the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5.30am local time.

Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions.

Authorities say they have launched a search and rescue operation and are expected to review operational protocols for flights in the region.

The dead include the pilot and pilgrims from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, according to officials. The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, they said.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit Kedarnath, which is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines, each summer. Many use helicopter services due to the difficult mountainous terrain.

Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks.

Earlier this month, a helicopter operating in the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency landing shortly after taking off on a highway due to a technical fault. The pilot was injured but all five passengers on board were unharmed.

In May, a helicopter crashed in Uttarkashi district, killing six people, including the pilot. One person survived.