News - Middle East: Sudan has rejected a call by UN experts for an "independent and impartial force” to protect civilians in the conflict-stricken African country.

The conflict in Sudan is a power struggle between the army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy and head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict, which started in April last year, has killed tens of thousands of people, devastated wide swathes of Sudan and displaced millions of people, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The Sudanese foreign ministry, which is loyal to the army chief, said in a statement late Saturday that Sudan has rejected the call by UN experts for an "independent and impartial force" to protect civilians driven from their homes by war.

It called the fact-finding mission created by the UN Human Rights Council to report on the conflict in Sudan "a political and illegal body" and the panel's recommendations "a flagrant violation of their mandate."