US pushes for ceasefire in Sudan’s civil war as Kordofan violence escalates

As fighting continues in the vast strategic Kordofan region, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the ongoing violence is “horrifying” and that all those involved will be subject to lasting condemnation.

Rubio stated at a press conference on Friday that the conflict in Sudan needed to end, adding that the new year would provide “a great opportunity for both sides to agree to that” and allow desperately needed aid to reach the millions of people who are still ensnared in the conflict.

His remarks came as Kordofan’s violence has caused more than 50 000 people to flee and at least 100 civilians to die since early December.

Rubio remarked, “What’s happening there is horrifying, it’s atrocious,” adding that “everyone involved will look bad one day as the truth about what actually happened there is revealed.”

President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in late November, and US special envoy Massad Boulos just returned from speaking with Egyptian, Saudi Arabian, and UAE officials.

Rubio claimed to have collaborated with the United Kingdom and had conversations with leaders in the area.

The top US diplomat cited external weapons sources as a key factor in the ongoing, third-year, brutal conflict between the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“All of these weapons were obtained abroad,” the statement states. According to Rubio, they must have originated somewhere else and must have done so through somewhere else.

Conflict experts claim that Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied that the UAE provides direct material support to the RSF through a network that spans neighboring nations.

In addition, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are involved in mediation efforts while the SAF is close to Turkiye, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Rubio acknowledged the difficulty of achieving a ceasefire, claiming that parties frequently agree to commitments but fail to do so, especially when one side believes the momentum on the battlefield is in its favor.

Rubio argued that the US role is to convene parties and encourage outside actors to use their influence, not that any of these organizations could function without the support they were receiving externally.

Kordofan is where fighting shifts.

According to the Sudan Doctors Network, at least 16 people have died in the past two days as a result of the RSF and allied fighters shelling residential areas of Dilling, including women, elderly residents, and children. The heaviest fighting has now moved from Darfur to Kordofan, where the RSF and allied fighters have shelled residential areas.

According to Mohamed Refaat, the international organization’s chief of mission in Sudan, El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and a crucial hub for transportation connecting routes to South Sudan, eastern Sudan, and Darfur, the next potential target appears to be.

He warned that if fighting breaks out in the city, more than half a million people could be affected.

Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed on December 13 when drones struck their Kadugli base. What it called a “heinous and deliberate” attack that might lead to war crimes was condemned by the UN Security Council on Friday.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 80% of all fatalities have been attributed to strikes on medical facilities in Sudan this year, according to a report released on Friday. The WHO has verified 201 healthcare premises attacks since the conflict started in April 2023, with 1, 858 people dead.

After nine members of the original group of 73 were released, 64 medical workers are still being detained in Nyala, the RSF’s parallel government, according to the Sudan Doctors Network on Thursday.

The representative of the African Union to Sudan, who has condemned what he describes as systematic RSF attacks on civilians, said the perpetrators will not escape punishment and rejected any parallel institutions on Sudanese soil this week.

Both the RSF and the SAF have been accused of war crimes, with El-Fasher and the RSF also facing genocide allegations.

Source: Aljazeera