The United States has called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene and address the nearly year-long conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The U.S. accuses the warring parties of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. The U.N. estimates that approximately 25 million people, half of Sudan’s population, require aid, and around 8 million have been displaced, leading to a worsening hunger crisis.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that it demands greater attention from the Security Council. She urged the council to act promptly to alleviate human suffering, hold perpetrators accountable, and bring an end to the conflict.
Although the conflict has been persisting since April 15, 2023, the Security Council has issued only three statements expressing concern about the war. Thomas-Greenfield expressed disappointment in the limited attention given to the allegations detailed in the U.N. sanctions monitors report, which revealed ethnic violence resulting in a significant number of casualties in Sudan’s West Darfur region.
The report indicated that between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in one city in West Darfur last year due to ethnic violence by the RSF and allied Arab militia. Thomas-Greenfield criticized the lack of attention both within and outside the U.N. Security Council regarding these serious allegations. She highlighted her visit to a refugee camp in Chad near the Sudanese border in September and criticized the recent Sudanese government’s move to block aid deliveries through Chad, describing it as “unacceptable” for jeopardizing a crucial supply route to the Darfur region controlled by the rival RSF.
Last year, Reuters extensively documented ethnically targeted violence in West Darfur, revealing survivors’ accounts of horrific scenes of bloodshed in El Geneina and along the route to the Chad border as people sought refuge.