Biden demands global action to halt arms supplies to Sudan's warring factions
Biden demands global action to halt arms supplies to Sudan's warring factions
U.S. president urges Burhan, Hemedti to halt war
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged world leaders to stop supplying weapons to the factions involved in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, highlighting the war’s devastating toll, including thousands of deaths, millions of displaced, and widespread atrocities.
Speaking at the opening session of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Biden called on the generals leading the fighting to end the war and alleviate the suffering of Sudan’s population by allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“In Sudan, a bloody civil war unleashed one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises: eight million — eight million on the brink of famine, hundreds of thousands already there, atrocities in Darfur and elsewhere.”
“The United States has led the world in providing humanitarian aid to Sudan. And with our partners, we have led diplomatic talks to try to silence the guns and avert a wider famine. The world needs to stop arming the generals, to speak with one voice and tell them: Stop tearing your country apart. Stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people. End this war now,” Biden said.
Biden’s remarks on Sudan came two days after his meeting with UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed at the White House.
Prior to this meeting, five members of the U.S. House of Representatives called on Biden to use the meeting as a chance to pressure Bin Zayed to halt military aid for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Ilhan Omar, Daniel Kildee, and Sara Jacobs expressed their concerns in a letter, citing the UAE’s involvement in Sudan’s conflict.
Jacobs, writing on X (formerly Twitter) shortly before the meeting, urged Biden to pressure Bin Zayed to stop supporting the RSF, which has been accused by local and international human rights organizations of potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, furthering the suffering of Sudan’s people.
“In today's meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, I urge President Biden to use our considerable leverage to get the UAE to stop funding the RSF and prolonging the war in Sudan. The continued death, destruction, and suffering in Sudan is preventable,” she wrote.
In a joint statement following the meeting, Biden and Bin Zayed expressed "deep concern" over the conflict in Sudan and vowed to work together to de-escalate the situation, which has displaced millions and killed thousands. The statement read:
“On the conflict in Sudan, the leaders expressed their deep concern over the tragic impact the violence has had on the Sudanese people and on neighboring countries. Both leaders expressed alarm at the millions displaced by the war, the hundreds of thousands experiencing famine, and the atrocities committed by the belligerents against the civilian population. They stressed that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Sudan and underscored their firm and unwavering position on the imperative for concrete and immediate action to achieve a lasting cessation of hostilities, the return to the political process, and transition to civilian-led governance.
“Both leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to de-escalate the conflict, alleviate the suffering of the people of Sudan, ensure humanitarian assistance reaches the Sudanese people, and prevent Sudan from attracting transnational terrorist networks once again. Noting their shared concern about the risk of imminent atrocities, particularly as fighting continues in Darfur, they underscored that all parties to the conflict must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and all individuals and groups that commit war crimes must be held accountable. The leaders emphasized that the priority right now must be the protection of civilians, particularly women, children, and the elderly, securing humanitarian pauses to scale up and facilitate the movement of humanitarian assistance across conflict lines, and ensuring the delivery of aid to those in need, especially the most vulnerable.”
Biden also acknowledged the United Arab Emirates as a "major defense partner," a designation that deepens military ties despite concerns about UAE support for the RSF. The UAE became the second country to receive such a strategic designation after India, which was recognized by the U.S. president in 2021.
According to the White House, this designation will “allow for unprecedented cooperation through joint training, exercises, and military-to-military collaboration between the military forces of the United States, the UAE, and India, as well as other common military partners, in furtherance of regional stability.”
News in brief
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Wednesday that pregnant women, mothers, and newborns are dying at an alarming rate in South Darfur, and that thousands of malnourished children are on the brink of famine. The organization said in a report that the health crisis in South Darfur is one of the worst of its kind globally and is caused by the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces that erupted in April of last year.
A Sudanese woman, identified as Halima Sadeq Mohammed Noor, has accused Sudanese army chief Abdelfattah El Burhan of raping her in 2005. In a video circulating online, the woman said she was unable to report the incident at the time due to a lack of clear channels for victims of sexual assault. She is now calling for justice. Al-Burhan was a commander in what is now Central Darfur during the deadly 2003-2020 Darfur conflict, in which thousands of women were raped and hundreds of thousands were killed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Janjaweed militias.
The United States announced an additional $424 million in humanitarian aid for Sudan. The announcement was made by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Wednesday. This brings the total U.S. assistance to Sudan since the outbreak of war in April 2023 to $2 billion.
The number of Sudanese migrants in France has been steadily increasing, according to France 24. The news organization reports that while figures fluctuate, aid organization Doctors Without Borders reports that in some weeks, Sudanese migrants may account for up to 60% of the total migrant population in the area. This represents a significant increase compared to previous years.
Sudan’s former Islamist leader Omar al-Bashir may require medical treatment outside the country after being transferred from war-torn Khartoum to the northern city of Merowe, his attorney said on Tuesday. Mohamed Hassan Al-Amin, Bashir’s lawyer and former head of the parliamentary committee on foreign relations during Bashir's rule, told Reuters that the 80-year-old ex-leader, who was jailed along with his allies following his ouster in a 2019 popular uprising, was first moved to a detention center in Merowe before being admitted to a hospital. Al-Amin said some of Bashir’s health issues remain undiagnosed and could necessitate treatment abroad.
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