US seeks expanded UN arms embargo to pressure Sudan's warring factions
The US urges the UN Security Council to expand Sudan's arms embargo nationwide, targeting external support prolonging the war.
The United States has called on the UN Security Council to strengthen sanctions against Sudan's warring parties, aiming to force them toward negotiations. The conflict, now in its fourth year, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced roughly 13 million, and driven parts of the country into famine.
Speaking to the council on Monday, Massad Boulos, senior adviser to President Donald Trump for Arab and African affairs, said external financial, military, and political backing for either the Sudanese armed forces or the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to drive the fighting. He did not name specific nations but noted that numerous external actors are providing a "tremendous and increasing amount of military support" to both sides.
A proposed US resolution, seen by Varta Wire, would expand the existing arms embargo beyond Darfur to cover all of Sudan. It would apply to all parties operating in the country and explicitly include drones and related technology, which experts say both sides are actively seeking to acquire.
The draft text deplores the continuous influx of external weapons and ammunition that prolongs the conflict and undermines mediation. It demands that all countries cease any direct or indirect logistical, financial, or military support that enables the fighting to continue.
The war erupted from a power struggle following Sudan's transition toward democracy after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir. Tensions between military chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo escalated into open conflict three years later.
General Burhan, quoted by the army-controlled SUNA news agency, said new sanctions would not deter his forces from fighting until they capture all RSF-controlled areas. He dismissed the measures as an attempt to subjugate the Sudanese people.
UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that despite repeated diplomatic efforts, the parties remain locked in a zero-sum military logic. She stressed that greater international attention and action are urgently needed to change that calculus.