The fourteen-month civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has so far cost around 15,000 people their lives and displaced some 10 million others, according to the United Nations. Today, the Sudanese people are caught in the midst of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan,” said U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“This conflict has been a nightmare for the Sudanese people, who have faced unthinkable violence, and are living under the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. And we cannot sit idly by as these horrors play out before our eyes.”
Currently the fighting is centered on the city of El Fasher, which has been under siege by the Rapid Support Forces since April. El Fasher is the last major urban center in Darfur that remains in the hands of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and is the home or refuge of around 1.5 million people. Indeed, thousands of Sudanese fleeing from fighting elsewhere have ended up in El Fasher. But now this city, once a relatively safe harbor, has become yet another frontline.
“We see upwards of a million innocent people being starved by the siege of the RSF,” said Tom Perriello, U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan. "And as bad as it is, it could get worse any day if El Fasher falls, not only the horrors that would come from the battle, but as people flee."
On June 13, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding that the Rapid Support Forces halt their siege of El Fasher. Under the Resolution, all parties to the conflict must ensure civilians be protected, those wishing to move to safer areas must be allowed to do so, and the warring parties must allow safe and sustained passage of humanitarian relief to the city.
“We must all call on the RSF and the SAF to meet their obligations under international law and protect civilians from violence,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. “We urge the Council to apply targeted sanctions measures to help address the ongoing violence and to send a strong signal to perpetrators of abuses.”
“The United States,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, “remains fully committed to working with the United Nations to end the bloodshed, protect civilians, and bring peace to Sudan.”
