Sudan calls for UN action against RSF, its supporters

January 20, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – The Sudanese government has urged the UN Security Council to designate the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a terrorist organization and to take punitive measures against countries that support rebel militias in Sudan.

This call for action comes in response to a new report by the UN panel of experts on Sudan, which corroborates allegations from Sudanese officials and media reports of the RSF receiving military supplies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) via Chad and Libya.

The 47-page report, which was obtained by Sudan Tribune, details war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the RSF and allied Arab militias in the Darfur region. It estimates that “in El Geneina alone, between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed.”

In a statement on Saturday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry condemned the continued supply of advanced weapons to the RSF by the UAE and other unnamed countries. The ministry claimed that this support enables the RSF to expand its military operations, commit atrocities against civilians, and prolong the war in Sudan.

The ministry also criticized the international community’s slow response to the situation in Sudan, arguing that its reluctance to take decisive action against the RSF is contributing to the continuation of the war and the suffering of millions of Sudanese people.

Based on these findings, the Sudanese government called for the UN Security Council to designate the RSF as a terrorist group and to criminalize any dealings with the militia. It also called on the council to take “decisive measures” against countries that support the RSF.

The statement further called for the prosecution and liquidation of the RSF’s financing networks and commercial companies, as well as the holding of accountable those companies that provide the militia with public relations and propaganda support.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry also emphasized the need for the full implementation of the Jeddah Declaration of Humanitarian Principles, which was signed on May 11, 2023. It called on all parties involved in the conflict to respect this declaration and to work towards a ceasefire.

The UN experts’ report also, for the first time, documented the involvement of the RSF in smuggling fuel from South Sudan with the complicity of local South Sudanese army officers.

The report specifically pointed to officers based in Wau, saying that “trucks carrying fuel moved from Juba to Wau, weekly. From Wau, fuel was transported in civilian cars such as Landcruiser to Raja, then to RSF-controlled areas in South Darfur, through Kafia-Kingi.”

(ST)