Sudan’s prime minister on Thursday urged the United Nations to designate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a terrorist group and to impose an arms embargo, accusing it of committing genocide and using foreign mercenaries in its war against the country’s military.
Prime Minister Kamil Idris told the U.N. General Assembly that the Sudanese people “have faced existential threats and dangers because of the RSF, which he said has adopted a policy of terrorizing civilians. He called for the international community to “stop the flow of weapons and mercenaries into Sudan.”
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open warfare.
The conflict has killed at least 40,000 people, displaced nearly 13 million and left over 24 million acutely food insecure, according to U.N. agencies.
Idris condemned the continued international silence over the siege of the city of El-Fasher and the shelling of displacement camps, mosques, and health facilities. He called for the siege to be lifted immediately, in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions.
El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, has witnessed intense fighting since May despite international warnings about the risks in a city that serves as a key humanitarian hub.
The prime minister also addressed the war in Gaza, saying it “poses grave dangers to the region.” He said there can be no stability without a comprehensive solution enabling the establishment of a Palestinian state. He also condemned a recent Israeli attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar, saying it threatens international peace.
In a significant development, key countries have been coordinating efforts on the sidelines of the U.N. gathering. The United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — a group calling themselves the Quad — issued a joint statement on Sept. 12 calling for an initial three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire.
The group met Wednesday to discuss implementation.
Another meeting was convened by the African Union, European Union and the foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom. A statement issued afterward urged the warring parties to resume direct negotiations and “strongly condemned the military involvement of unnamed foreign countries.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his speech Tuesday, made a similar appeal: “End the external support that is fueling this bloodshed.”
The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said in July that the court believes war crimes and crimes against humanity are taking place in Darfur. The RSF controls all regional capitals in Darfur except El-Fasher.
The RSF and its allies announced in June they had formed a parallel government in areas the group controls, a move rejected by the U.N. Security Council as a threat to the country’s territorial integrity.