UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Sudan’s warring parties Monday to “immediately cease hostilities, restore calm, and begin a dialogue to resolve the crisis.”

The United Nations chief said “any further escalation” of the conflict between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals “could be devastating for the country and the region.”

The violence which erupted Saturday raged for a third day Monday with the death toll surpassing 100.

US, UK urge ‘immediate cessation of violence’ in Sudan

It broke out after weeks of power struggles between the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“I have spoken during the weekend with the two Sudanese leaders and I am actively engaging with the AU (African Union), the Arab League and leaders across the region,” said Guterres.

He added that the “humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic.”

“I urge all those with influence over the situation to use it in the cause of peace; to support efforts to end the violence, restore order, and return to the path of transition,” Guterres pleaded.

The United Nations Security Council was due to hold a closed-doors meeting on the situation in Sudan later Monday morning.