The commandant of the National Defence College (NDC), Rear Adm. Murtala Bashir, says the ongoing crisis in Sudan may aggravate the already dire security situation in Africa if not properly handled.

Mr Bashir said this at a one-day roundtable on Sudan Crisis by the Centre for Strategic Research and Studies of National Defence College on Monday in Abuja.

“We should realise that we are yet to get over the shock and the effects of the crisis in Libya,” said Mr Bashir. “So with these recent developments in Sudan, it is definitely going to aggravate an already dire situation not only in the sub-region but the continent and probably outside the continent.”

The roundtable’s theme is “Sudan Crisis: Implications for National and Regional Security”.

The commandant said Sudan had witnessed many crises, such as the two civil wars between the then central government and the southern regions and the ongoing crisis in the country’s western region.

He said the crisis had so far claimed the lives of about 200,000 people, in addition to the millions of displaced people taking refuge in neighbouring countries.

According to him, there has been massive destruction of infrastructure and facilities in the country and the ongoing crisis that has claimed so many lives and further displacement of people.

“We want to see how this conflict could be resolved as quickly as possible.

“Already some countries and organisations, countries like Saudi Arabia, United States and some countries in Africa have intervened, but we felt as a think-tank of the country and for the armed forces of Nigeria, we need to organise this roundtable,” he said.

Mr Bashir said the resource persons would have an in-depth analysis and interrogates the crisis in Sudan and generates practical and enduring strategies that would hopefully help to end the crisis.

He said the college would continue to see how it could develop strategies that would help to address security issues in the country, the continent and globally.

He promised to ensure the findings were articulated and forwarded to the appropriate security authorities for action.

While giving the background to the Sudan crisis, Victor Akran of the Department of History and War Studies, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), said Sudan had, over the years, witnessed a series of conflicts since the colonial era.

(NAN)