Sudan’s warring sides must face ‘accountability’

Sudan's warring sides must face "accountability" for the "crimes" committed in their conflict, which risks spiralling into a regional crisis, the head of UN mission in the country said yesterday.

The fighting, which has gone on for three months, "risks morphing into an ethnicised, tribalised and ideologised conflict which is much closer to being a full-blown civil war," the official, Volker Perthes, told reporters in Brussels.

Already the multiple human rights violations carried out, including "murder, rape and looting," are fuelling a desire among ordinary Sudanese to see the back of the warring generals, he said.

"The interpretation of what I hear is that a majority of the Sudanese don't want these generals to continue in any way in the country," Perthes said.

While he was not directly calling for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring the generals to justice, he said: "The ICC of course is watching -- it's not up to me to ask the ICC to take action, but I think they are on it."

Meanwhile, the UK government yesterday announced sanctions on businesses that it said were associated with the Sudanese military groups.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was imposing the sanctions on firms "which are fuelling the devastating conflict in Sudan by providing funding and arms to the warring militias".

The measures target three businesses associated with the regular army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and three linked to its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the FCDO said in a statement.

The sanctions "will limit their financial freedom by preventing UK citizens, companies and banks from dealing with them and put pressure on the parties to engage in the peace process".

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the sanctions "are directly targeting those whose actions have destroyed the lives of millions".

More than 3 million people have now fled their homes due to the unrest in Sudan, the UN said yesterday.