UN Warns Sudan Conflict Deepening Crisis in South Sudan

A senior United Nations official has warned Wednesday that the ongoing war in Sudan is worsening South Sudan’s fragile economy and humanitarian conditions along their shared border.
Guang Cong, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), told the UN Security Council that fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to insecurity from cross-border movements of armed groups.
He said South Sudan’s oil exports through Sudan have suffered major disruptions, shrinking the economy by nearly 25 percent. Drone strikes on oil depots and facilities in Port Sudan and Heglig earlier this year caused severe environmental damage and temporary shutdowns, further weakening the country’s finances.
Cong added that bilateral relations between the two nations remain strained, particularly over the disputed Abyei region, where more than 41,000 displaced people from Sudan have sought refuge, putting pressure on scarce resources. UN officials also warned that RSF activities and illegal checkpoints in northern Abyei violate international agreements and threaten peacekeepers’ operations. Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, called for the immediate withdrawal of all armed forces from Abyei, lamenting that a 15 percent budget cut to the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) could undermine its peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts.