Fighting in Sudan affects relationship with South Sudan: UN envoy

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, special envoy of the UN secretary-general for the Horn of Africa, briefs a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 9, 2023. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The fighting in Sudan, while having a devastating impact on the Sudanese population, is also profoundly affecting the bilateral relationship between the country and South Sudan, a United Nations envoy said on Tuesday.

The conflict in Sudan, which erupted on April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is putting the incremental progress achieved by Sudan and South Sudan in addressing their outstanding bilateral issues in jeopardy, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, special envoy of the UN secretary-general for the Horn of Africa, told a UN Security Council meeting.

The government of South Sudan is also wary of the consequences of the Sudanese conflict on South Sudan's stability and security, Tetteh said.

The unstable situation has already seen the return of South Sudanese refugees hosted by Sudan with the potential for more than 200,000 South Sudanese refugees hosted by Sudan returning to a country where two-thirds of the population already requires humanitarian assistance, she said.

Tetteh noted that as the Sudanese authorities are not currently in a position to effectively protect their borders, the insecurity at the border between Sudan and South Sudan could increase with cross-border movements of armed and criminal groups.

The fighting in Sudan is also affecting the daily commercial activities and delivery of food and other basic goods from Sudan to South Sudan and putting oil exports from South Sudan through Port Sudan at risk, she added.

Tetteh stressed that the priority now in Sudan is to stop the fighting and start constructive negotiations between the SAF and RSF that hopefully would lead to a permanent ceasefire and the return to a transitional civilian government.

This would be "the pre-requisite" for further efforts, including future engagement on Abyei, and addressing the outstanding bilateral issues between Sudan and South Sudan, she said.