UN fact-finding mission says external actors fuel Sudan war, backs nationwide arms embargo

By Merve Aydogan and Aysu Bicer

HAMILTON, Canada/LONDON (AA) - The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said Wednesday that foreign weapons, technology and personnel continue to fuel the war, as it urged stronger international action.

Speaking at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York, mission chair Mohamed Chande Othman said: "Our investigation found reasonable grounds to believe that external transfer of weapons, military technology, logistic support, and foreign personnel continue to sustain and intensify the conflict."

"We also found that external actors supplied both parties, and this helps sustain their military operations. The result is increasingly visible on the ground," he said.

Asked who is supplying the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the government, Othman said investigators found a cross-border network involving individuals and entities in Chad, Puntland in Somalia, southeast Libya and the United Arab Emirates, engaged in supplying weapons and training foreign fighters.

He said the mission is urging those states "to beef up their due diligence obligations" because of the direct consequences for civilians.

Stressing the distinction between governments and those operating from their territory, Othman said: "We have not yet, in terms of our evidence, linked any of the neighboring states as states. So, there’s a distinction there: individuals and entities in these states."

He said the mission is engaging with the UAE and Chad, noting that Chad denies using its territory and that the investigation into other states’ alleged roles is ongoing.

Mona Rishmawi, member of the mission, said both parties and their allies "are basically destroying a country of 56 million people."

"That’s really important to keep in mind," she said, adding that impunity from earlier conflicts is feeding the violence.

Asked about the Security Council's refusal in September and earlier this month to expand an arms embargo beyond Darfur, mission member Joy Ngozi Ezeilo said the report documents how surveillance and arbitrary detention are exposing civil society.

She said the mission’s role is to ensure "Sudanese civilians, whether women, children, or the displaced families, are not abandoned."

"This war, despite being the most atrocious war, is not getting the attraction it is supposed to get. And the international community is not responding in a way it should," said Ezeilo.

"We are for expansion of this arms embargo," she said, adding that the mission also supports extending the International Criminal Court’s mandate to all of Sudan.

The mission said civilians in the strategic city of El Obeid are exposed to grave risks as it remains partially encircled by RSF.

RSF-attributed drone strikes have also damaged schools and displacement sites, and disrupted access to healthcare, electricity and water, according to the report.

Meanwhile, security forces affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have intensified surveillance and arbitrary arrests, further restricting civilian freedoms.

“The situation in and around El-Obeid remains grave and the risk of atrocities are high,” said Othman.

“The attacks reported in Blue Nile, Abyei and near the Sudan-Egypt border reinforce what we have been warning about for months: the conflict is becoming more geographically extensive, more technologically sophisticated and increasingly dangerous for civilians,” he added.

The army and the RSF have been fighting since April 2023, when disagreements about the integration of military forces escalated into war.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced around 13 million, amid worsening famine and a deepening humanitarian crisis.

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