UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will vote Thursday on a resolution demanding that Sudan’s paramilitary force end its siege of the only capital in the vast western Darfur region that the country does not control.
The draft resolution expressed “serious concerns” about the spreading violence and credible reports that the Rapid Support Forces are committing “ethnically motivated violence” in El Fasher, where more than 800,000 people are believed to be trapped.
In mid-April 2023, Sudan became embroiled in conflict, when long-simmering tensions between the army led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo erupted into street fighting in the capital Khartoum. The fighting has spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas and the vast western region of Darfur. According to the UN, more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured.
Twenty years ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, especially by the infamous Arab Janjaweed militias, against populations who identify as Central or East African. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million people were driven from their homes.
That legacy seems to have returned. International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said in January that there are reasons to believe both sides may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.
The RSF was formed from Janjaweed fighters by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades before being overthrown in a popular uprising in 2019. He is wanted by the ICC on charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.
The draft resolution demands that the RSF and government forces guarantee the protection of civilians, as well as those who want to move to El Fasher or leave the capital of North Darfur for safer areas.
It calls for an immediate cessation of fighting and de-escalation around El Fasher, and for “the withdrawal of all fighters who threaten the safety and security of civilians.”
The draft resolution calls on both sides “to seek an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a lasting resolution of the conflict, through dialogue,” supported by UN Envoy Ramtane Lamamra and the High-Level Panel on Sudan African Union.
It also calls on all countries to end interference that fuels conflict and instability rather than peace efforts, and to remind countries that supply weapons to the warring parties that they are violating a UN arms embargo and will be hit with sanctions can make.
UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council on April 19 that the years-long war has been fueled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to ignore UN sanctions aimed at helping end the conflict. “This is illegal, it is immoral and it has to stop,” she said.
She did not name any of the foreign supporters.
But Burhan, who led a military takeover of Sudan in 2021, is a close ally of neighboring Egypt and its president, former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. In February, Sudan’s foreign minister held talks in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart, amid unconfirmed reports of the purchase of drones for government forces.
Dagalo, the leader of the RSF, has reportedly received support from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. UN experts said in a recent report that the RSF has also received support from Arab allied communities and from new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya and South Sudan.
The draft expresses concern about “the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis level or worsening acute food insecurity, and the immediate risk of famine, especially in Darfur.”
The UN humanitarian agency said on Tuesday that the UN and aid agencies are “working against the clock to prevent famine and alleviate the most urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan.
But the UN said this is an “incredible challenge” because the humanitarian appeal for Sudan is only 16% funded this year – with less than $441 million of the $2.7 billion needed having been received.
