Emmanuel OchayiThe United States has called on all countries to immediately stop supplying weapons to Sudan’s warring parties, warning that the current situation in Darfur is on the brink of a large-scale massacre and a crisis of epic proportions.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield appealed to an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, stating that history is repeating itself in the region, which witnessed a genocide 20 years ago.
Thomas-Greenfield expressed concern over the imminent attack on El Fasher, the only capital in Darfur not held by paramilitary forces, which would put two million people at risk.
She urged all countries to raise the threat and called on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militias to end their siege of El Fasher and engage in direct negotiations with rival government forces.
The RSF, formed from Janjaweed fighters, has been accused of carrying out brutal attacks on ethnic African civilians, particularly the ethnic Masalit, and has taken control of most of the Darfur region. The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, has stated that there are grounds to believe both sides may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide in Darfur.
The conflict in Sudan has resulted in over 14,000 deaths, tens of thousands of wounded, and 25 million people in need of life-saving assistance.
The United States has pledged to continue pressuring regional powers to stop providing weapons to the warring parties, as demanded by the U.N. arms embargo. The global community is urged to take immediate action to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Sudan.
