(FILES) A Sudanese army soldier mans a machine gun on top of a military pickup truck outside a hospital in Omdurman on November 2, 2024. (Photo by Amaury Falt-Brown / AFP)
United Nations, United States: Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Monday calling for an immediate end to hostilities in Sudan where a war between two rival generals has been raging since April 2023.
A draft of the resolution prepared by Britain and Sierra Leone, which was seen by AFP, had called on both sides to "immediately cease hostilities" and begin talks on "a national ceasefire."
"One country stood in the way of the council speaking with one voice. One country is the blocker," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said after the vote, which showed 14 countries in favor and only Russia against.
"One country is the enemy of peace. This Russian veto is a disgrace, and it shows to the world yet again Russia's true colors," Lammy added.
Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the regular army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who seized power in a 2021 coup, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his one-time deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
