Guterres accepts the resignation of his envoy to Sudan

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced that he had accepted the resignation of his Special Representative to Sudan, Volker Perthes.

Guterres stated in response to Perthes’s resignation, “Yes, he has very strong reasons for him to resign, and I must respect his will and accept his resignation.”

The UN Secretary-General continued by saying that he did not think it would be simple for the UN Security Council to come to a consensus and decide to impose a resolution to the Sudanese situation.

Volker Perthes, a German who served as the UN’s ambassador, earlier announced his retirement, citing the possibility that the turmoil in Sudan would degenerate into a “civil war.”

“I thank the Secretary-General for this opportunity and the trust he gave me,” Perthes said in front of the UN Security Council on Wednesday night. “But I asked him to relieve me of my duties.”

“What began as a conflict between two military formations could turn into an actual civil war,” Perthes wrote in a report he submitted, noting that the battles “do not show any sign of calm, and neither party seems close to a decisive military victory.” Perthes held both sides of the conflict accountable for the conflict’s ongoing existence.

Perthes accused the Rapid Support Forces of committing acts of sexual violence, looting, and murder in the regions they govern, as well as the Sudanese Armed Forces of conducting indiscriminate airstrikes.

After Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the president of the Sovereignty Council and commander of the Sudanese army, requested Guterres’ replacement in May of last year, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry designated Perthes persona non grata in June.