UN chief renews call for Sudan's 'immediate ceasefire'

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, speaking during a press conference in Addis Ababa on February 14, 2026. [AFP]

 The United Nations is "fully committed" to piling on pressure for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, which has been devastated by nearly three years of civil war, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday.

Since April 2023, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a bitter struggle for control of the country.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 11 million from their homes, sparking what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

"We have been very actively engaged... with the African Union, with the Arab League, with the Quad and with other key actors, in order to put effective pressure for an immediate ceasefire," Guterres said.

"We must look first of all to create the conditions to put pressure on the two parties of the conflict," he told reporters on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Ethiopia.

He also stressed the need to tackle foreign actors "supporting and arming" both sides -- "some in the African continent and some outside".

The United Arab Emirates has repeatedly been accused of supplying the RSF with weapons, fuel and mercenaries -- allegations Abu Dhabi denies despite the findings of UN experts, US lawmakers and international monitoring groups.

The UN chief also addressed fraught relations in the Horn of Africa after renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia sparked fears of a fresh conflict that could again draw in neighbouring Eritrea.

"Ethiopia and Eritrea are two neighbours and two countries that have had a common past struggle," Guterres said.

"My strong hope is that the two countries will be able to reconcile and will be able to, with that, contribute to the peace and stability in the continent," he added.

Eritrea, one of the world's most closed-off countries, gained independence in 1993 after decades of armed struggle against Ethiopia.

The two later fought a 1998-2000 border war in which tens of thousands died.

Their governments cooperated against rebels from Ethiopia's Tigray region during the 2020-2022 conflict but fell out over the peace accord, from which Eritrea was excluded.