UN warns arms suppliers driving Sudan war will be held accountable
“The continued supply of weapons – increasingly sophisticated and deadly – remains a key driver of the conflict. Sudan is saturated with arms,” Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the UN Security Council. “Calls to end these flows have gone unheeded, and there has been no accountability.”
Khiari added that the warring parties remain unwilling to compromise or de-escalate. “While they were able to stop fighting to preserve oil revenues, they have so far failed to do the same to protect their population,” he noted, emphasizing the need for decisive Security Council action.
He cited recent attacks in the Kordofan region, including a drone strike on Dec. 4 that targeted a kindergarten and later a hospital, killing over 100 people, including 63 children, describing the humanitarian toll as “immense” and “unimaginable.”
The conflict, ongoing since April 2023, pits the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese army following the collapse of the civilian transition. On Oct. 26, RSF forces captured El-Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, after a prolonged siege, triggering mass displacement and leaving civilians with limited access to food.
Sudan’s Transitional Prime Minister Kamil El-Tayeb Idris outlined a four-step peace plan to the Council, aiming to halt decades of violence, safeguard civilians, and maintain national unity.
The plan calls for a comprehensive ceasefire under UN, African Union, and Arab League monitoring, withdrawal and disarmament of militias, and unrestricted humanitarian aid delivery.
US Ambassador Jeff Bartos condemned the “horrific violence” and specifically criticized the Dec. 13 attack on UN peacekeepers in South Kordofan, urging both Sudanese forces and the RSF to end hostilities immediately. He also noted that, under President Donald Trump’s direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior adviser Massad Boulos proposed a humanitarian truce.
China’s UN representative Fu Cong called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, prioritizing civilian well-being, and urged external actors to stop supplying local armed groups. Russia’s Dmitry A. Polyanskiy emphasized that “decisions about Sudan's future must be made by the Sudanese themselves, without external pressure or prescriptions,” advocating for inclusive, internal dialogue as the path to peace.
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