The United States is advocating for enhanced United Nations sanctions against the warring factions in Sudan, aiming to compel them to negotiate an end to a conflict that has resulted in at least 59,000 deaths, displaced 13 million people, and plunged parts of the country into famine.
Massad Boulos, senior adviser to the U.S. President for Arab and African affairs, informed the UN Security Council on Monday that financial, military, and political support provided to either the Sudanese army or the rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), continues to fuel the fighting, which is now in its fourth year.
Boulos did not identify specific countries providing this support. While Egypt has been a vocal proponent of Sudan's military, the United Arab Emirates has been accused by UN experts and human rights organizations of supplying arms to the RSF, allegations the UAE has consistently denied.
He stated that the Security Council possesses the means to restrict the flow of "a tremendous and increasing amount of military support to both warring parties" from "numerous external actors."
Two years ago, UN-backed human rights investigators recommended extending an arms embargo, initially imposed on Sudan's Darfur region due to mass atrocities between 2003 and 2005, to encompass the entire country.
According to Boulos, a proposed U.S. resolution before the UN Security Council would broaden this arms embargo to cover all of Sudan. It would also apply "to all parties operating in the territory" and confirm that drones and related technologies are included within the scope of the arms embargo.
Experts note that Sudan's army and the RSF are actively seeking to acquire new drone models. Rights groups have reported an increasing use of unmanned aircraft in the ongoing conflict in the Northeast African nation.
The draft resolution obtained by the Associated Press expresses regret over the "continuous influx of external military assistance, weapons, and ammunition to the warring parties, which is prolonging the conflict and undermining mediation efforts," including the launch of drones and unmanned aerial systems from third countries.
The proposed resolution demands that all nations "cease any direct or indirect support to the warring parties, be it logistical, financial or military, which enables conflict to continue."
The conflict originated from a power struggle that emerged after Sudan's transition to democracy, following an uprising that led to the military ouster of long-time autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Tensions escalated three years later between Sudan's army chief, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who heads the ruling sovereign council, and RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who served as Burhan's deputy.
According to the army-controlled SUNA news agency, Burhan stated on Monday that new sanctions would not deter his troops from continuing the war until all RSF-controlled areas are captured. He remarked during a police officer graduation ceremony in Khartoum that the Sudanese people "will not be broken, but we will break and defeat you."