Abu Dhabi: Speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi today, former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok warned of the danger of a long civil war that could end efforts to stop the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan.
In the presence of Arab and foreign media at the media briefing, he described the situation in Sudan as tragic, adding that circumstances are worsening as there is a shortage of food, medicine and essential items.
“The internal situation is catastrophic. There is a humanitarian crisis, a shortage of food and medicine, and provision of the necessary needs of civilians. The war is still going on and is destroying everything, and the destruction is continuing,” Hamdok said.
“The main reason that made me make my appeals today is that unfortunately… the situation is catastrophic. The economic situation was bad and today it has become worse; there are severe shortages of food, medicine and energy.”
Hamdok added: “We demand an immediate end to the war and an opportunity for international and Arab efforts to find a political solution. The decision to go to war remains governed by many local, regional and international factors. We as Sudanese have not faced [such] a tragedy and political and military collapse as we are facing it today.
Civil war fears
“We fear that things will get out of control and the tragedy will turn into a civil war. There is a serious danger that the military conflict will turn into a civil war and that Sudan will transform to another Arab hotbed of civil war in the Middle East.”
The former prime minister continued: “The framework agreement between the parties to the conflict stopped working after the outbreak of the war. This increases the risk of a civil war igniting that destroys everything. Therefore, I call for an immediate end to the war and to sit at the negotiating table, and we appeal to all Arab and regional powers to mediate and persuade the conflicting parties to sit at the negotiating table.”
Hamdok denied the existence of any Arab initiative to solve the Sudanese crisis.
“There is no Saudi-Egyptian initiative to persuade the parties to the conflict to resort to a peaceful solution and to negotiate to reach a peaceful agreement that guarantees the rights of all parties. We reiterate the demand for finding safe corridors to facilitate the delivery of food and medicine to civilians and residential areas,” he said.
Hamdok concluded his press conference by praising civil society organisations in Sudan.
“Civil society organisations are strong in Sudanese society and have deep roots and great contributions in resolving political crises and military conflicts. We hope that they will play a positive role in resolving the current conflict,” he added.
