Sudan’s military-led government has firmly rejected a call by a United Nations fact-finding mission to deploy an international force to protect civilians affected by the country’s ongoing civil war.
The UN mission reported “harrowing” human rights violations committed by both warring factions against civilians.
Since the conflict erupted in April 2023 between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), thousands have been killed and nearly eight million people displaced. The two factions had previously staged a joint coup, but their subsequent fallout plunged the country into a devastating civil war.
Chande Othman, head of the UN mission, emphasized the urgency of deploying an independent and impartial force to safeguard civilians, citing the failure of both sides to protect non-combatants. The mission also recommended an arms embargo on both parties.
The findings were based on firsthand accounts from 182 survivors, family members, and witnesses. Accusations were also made against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for allegedly supplying the RSF with funds and weapons, a claim the UAE denies. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is said to maintain close ties with the Sudanese government.
In response, Sudan’s foreign ministry rejected the mission’s recommendations entirely, accusing the UN Human Rights Council of being “a political and illegal body” and labeling the recommendations as a violation of the mission’s mandate.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking from Port Sudan, highlighted the worsening humanitarian crisis. He expressed shock at the scale of the emergency and criticized the insufficient international response to curtail the conflict and address the suffering.
Despite mediation efforts led by Saudi Arabia and the US, the conflict remains unresolved. In August, a UN-backed committee declared a famine at a camp near el-Fasher in Darfur, which houses about 500,000 displaced people and is one of the regions most affected by the war.
