In statements made to Digital, the U.S. State Department has articulated a firmer stance on the conflict between Sudan’s warring factions, as a 500-day siege of El Fasher, a city in Darfur, has entrapped hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Sudan is grappling with the world’s most extensive displacement crisis: between 13 million and 15 million people have been uprooted from their homes, and an estimated 150,000 individuals have been killed since the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) initiated hostilities in April 2023. The civil war’s origins are rooted in post-2019 tensions following the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir.
“The RSF, during its siege of El Fasher and surrounding territories, perpetrated a multitude of crimes against humanity, encompassing murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, forced displacement, and persecution based on ethnic, gender, and political grounds,” an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan conveyed to the U.N. Human Rights Council last Friday.
The report corroborated other accounts, asserting that the RSF is deliberately attempting to starve the inhabitants of El Fasher, stating, “The RSF and its allies utilized starvation as a method of warfare.”
Humanitarian aid is being obstructed from entering El Fasher, as reported by Stéphane Dujarric, the U.N. Secretary-General’s spokesperson, on August 29. He added, “Supplies are pre-positioned nearby, but efforts by the United Nations and its partners to transport them into El Fasher continue to face impediments.”
“The circumstances in El Fasher remain dire,” Mariam Wahba, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, informed Digital. “The RSF has effectively encircled the city, severing crucial supply routes and subjecting civilians to indiscriminate bombardment. Satellite imagery indicates the construction of a wall designed to trap civilians inside, consistent with RSF tactics employed elsewhere. These ‘kill zones’ offer residents no means of escape. El-Fasher represents the final significant SAF-held city in Darfur. Should it fall, the RSF would control nearly all of Darfur, thereby consolidating both territory and economic assets, particularly lucrative gold mines.”
Last month, President Donald Trump’s Special Advisor for Africa met with Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in Switzerland. Based on the tone of the State Department’s responses to Digital’s inquiries regarding Sudan this week, minimal progress appears to have been made toward a peaceful resolution.
A spokesperson stated that “since the conflict’s onset in Sudan in April 2023, we have observed a significant regression in Sudan’s overall adherence to fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom.
“To safeguard U.S. interests, which include the protection of religious freedom in Sudan, American efforts aim to curb detrimental Islamist influence within Sudan’s government and restrict Iran’s regional activities that have contributed to regional destabilization, conflict, and civilian suffering.”
Wahba also expressed concern about the involvement of foreign “malicious actors” in Sudan. “Iran has supplied the SAF with drones and technical assistance. Emerging intelligence suggests Iranian interest in helicopter facilities. Tehran views its involvement in Sudan as a strategic entry point for extending its presence across Africa.”
Wahba continued, “Russia has engaged with both sides of the conflict. It has sought a naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast, which would grant Moscow direct access to critical shipping lanes, while simultaneously profiting from gold smuggling through networks linked to the RSF.”
“Regional powers are also pursuing their own agendas. Egypt has publicly supported the SAF, aligning with Sudan’s ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Saudi Arabia is similarly aligned with Egypt in backing al-Burhan. The United Arab Emirates, conversely, has provided substantial aid to the RSF, viewing its commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo—widely known as Hemedti—as the overseer of Sudan’s gold exports and pivotal to its plans for port development along the Red Sea coast.”
Wahba concluded, “Burhan’s willingness to engage with Washington represents a potential opening. This does not imply that the U.S. should unconditionally support the SAF, but it could form the foundation for a more defined U.S. strategy, one that makes American engagement contingent on the SAF reining in, or disbanding, its Islamist militias and leadership.”