Marta Ama Akiapobi, a delegate speaking to the United Nations Security Council, urged the council to step up support for diplomatic and humanitarian measures as fighting in Sudan intensifies, particularly in Darfur and North Kordofan.

Akiapobi said the conflict "for too long...has gravely imperiled lives of Sudanese civilians," and highlighted an increase in aerial assaults, including the growing use of long-range drones, which she said has expanded hostilities into previously stable areas and caused significant civilian casualties and mass displacement.

The delegate told the council that front lines are shifting and heavy drone strikes and artillery fire have been reported on multiple fronts. She identified El Obeid in North Kordofan as a likely continuing flash point and said the rainy season could further complicate ground movement and humanitarian access.

Akiapobi warned of regional spillover, citing recent violent clashes in the tri-border area of Sudan, Libya and Egypt and reporting an increased presence of Rapid Support Forces personnel in Abyei and in parts of the Central African Republic, where fighters are being recruited. She said the Security Council recently condemned an attack on United Nations MINUSCA peacekeepers in which one peacekeeper was killed and another seriously injured.

She expressed alarm about ‘‘widespread’’ sexual violence, attacks on hospitals and humanitarian workers, and what she described as a tripling in arbitrary killings of civilians between February and April, citing documentation from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She said entrenched impunity is fueling gross human rights violations and abuses and stressed that all parties must be held accountable.

On humanitarian access, Akiapobi said the United Nations is pursuing "a predictable and time-bound humanitarian pause" to enable safe movements into and out of areas affected by fighting, beginning with El Fasher and to allow civilians to leave voluntarily and securely. She urged parties to make progress on measures that strengthen protection of civilians "without preconditions."

Turning to diplomacy, Akiapobi noted recent moves by Sudanese political leaders: she said the prime minister was sworn in on May 30 and dismissed the previous cabinet on June 1, and that he has proposed a 22-ministry government of technocrats. She said divisions persist within the Rapid Support Forces-led alliance over plans for a parallel administration in areas under its control and reiterated that preserving Sudan's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity is essential to a sustainable solution.

Akiapobi updated the council on mediation efforts led by the secretary-general's personal envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, saying he has intensified contacts with regional and international actors and remains in direct contact with warring parties and a broad array of civilian groups. She cited a high-level meeting between the United Nations, the African Union and the League of Arab States in Baghdad on May 16 and a consultative meeting hosted by the European Union in Brussels; she said preparations are under way for a co-organized meeting by the African Union and United Nations in Addis Ababa.

She concluded by calling on member states to support the personal envoy and "use its influence with the parties and their external backers to press for a genuine commitment to dialogue and de-escalation," saying the risk of regional conflagration is too great to allow the conflict to fester.

Shana Lewis, who opened the floor, introduced Akiapobi's remarks at the start of the item.