UN chief warns of 'major escalation' over Port Sudan strikes — spokesperson

By AFP - May 08,2025 - Last updated at May 08,2025

UN chief Antonio Guterres is "gravely concerned" over drone attacks on a key Sudanese city sheltering displaced people, warning Wednesday against heightened conflict in the warring country (AFP photo)

UNITED NATION , UNITED STATES — UN chief Antonio Guterres is "gravely concerned" over drone attacks on a key Sudanese city sheltering displaced people, warning Wednesday against heightened conflict in the warring country.

"This major escalation could lead to large-scale civilian casualties and further destruction of critical infrastructure," Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Strategic sites in Port Sudan, the seat of the army-backed government on the Red Sea coast, have been targeted for four days by drone strikes blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF].

Port Sudan is the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Sudan, and Dujarric said the attacks "threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations in the country."

Guterres is also "alarmed at the expansion of the conflict into an area that has served as a place of refuge for large numbers of people displaced from the capital, Khartoum, and other areas," his spokesman said in the statement.

War has raged since April 2023 between Sudan's regular armed forces and the RSF. Port Sudan had been a safe haven, hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people and United Nations offices.

A strike on Wednesday targeted Sudan's biggest naval base, an army source told AFP.

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