2 yıl önce

'Stop the nonsense’ says Kenya’s president to Sudanese generals

Fighting erupted in Sudan last month after a disagreement that had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF escalated.

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Ruto said it is unfortunate that the continent cannot stop the ongoing conflict because the African Union does not have the capacity to do so because its peace and security efforts depend on external funding. / Photo: AA

Kenyan President William Ruto called on Sudan’s warring generals to “stop the nonsense".

Addressing members of the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand near Johannesburg, Ruto said on Wednesday that the generals are bombing everything including roads, bridges and hospitals and destroying airports using military hardware bought with African money.

“We need to tell those generals to stop that nonsense,” he said, adding that military capacity is for fighting criminals and terrorists, not for fighting women and children and destroying infrastructure.

Ruto said it is unfortunate that the continent cannot stop the ongoing conflict because the African Union does not have the capacity to do so because its peace and security efforts depend on external funding.

More than 850 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group since April 15, according to local medics.

The UN estimates that over one million Sudanese may flee from Sudan during the year.

"This conflict is a cruel blow for the people of Sudan, already staggering under the weight of a desperate humanitarian situation," said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths.

Ruto said that African countries should primarily fund the African Union, whose budget is currently mainly funded by development partners, leaving Africans unable to make their own decisions. He quoted the English saying “He who pays the piper calls the tune.”