UN chief Guterres calls for countries fueling Sudan's war to be held accountable

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to delegates during a meeting on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 16 - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday for countries providing weapons to the warring parties in Sudan that are used to attack civilians to be held accountable.

"What is happening in Sudan is absolutely horrible. The humanitarian situation in Sudan is devastating. The level of suffering of the Sudanese people is intolerable," Guterres told reporters ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York next week.

Sudan's war, which erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, has displaced more than 14 million people and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

"It is true that the conflict is fueled by a number of countries from the outside," Guterres said. "In my opinion, there should be accountability for the kind of interference in which some countries provide weapons to parties to a conflict when those weapons are used massively to attack civilians."

A U.N. fact-finding mission said earlier this month that foreign weapons, military technology, fighters and logistical networks are helping sustain Sudan's conflict and expanding the warring parties' ability to strike distant civilian areas with drones. REUTERS