UN Demands Enforcement Of Darfur Arms Embargo As Sudan War Escalates | Sahara Reporters

According to the UN mission, the conflict is increasingly being fought with long-range drones capable of striking targets far from traditional battlefronts.

The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan has called for the immediate enforcement of the Darfur arms embargo and its extension across the entire country, warning that continued military support for Sudan’s warring parties risks fuelling further violations against civilians.

Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the UN fact-finding mission, made the demand during the ongoing 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, as he outlined findings on the expanding use of drones, foreign fighters and transnational networks allegedly supporting the conflict.

“The Darfur arms embargo must be enforced, and its extension across Sudan should be supported,” Othman said.

He further urged states to prevent military assistance originating from their territories from contributing to violations and to investigate individuals and entities involved in illicit support for the parties to the conflict.

“States must hold military support, emanating from their territory that risks fuelling violations, and effectively investigate the individuals and entities under their jurisdiction that illicitly support the parties to the conflict,” he said.

The appeal comes as Sudan’s war, which began in April 2023 following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, continues to devastate the country.

According to the UN mission, the conflict is increasingly being fought with long-range drones capable of striking targets far from traditional battlefronts.

Othman said both the SAF and RSF were increasingly using the technology, creating new dangers for civilians across Sudan.

“Both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces are increasingly using long-range drones, resulting in attacks now reaching far beyond traditional frontlines and with devastating consequences for civilians,” he said.

The mission said civilians have been harmed in a wide range of locations traditionally regarded as civilian spaces.

“Civilians have been harmed in their homes, schools, hospitals, markets, displacement sites, and places of refuge. [Civilians have been harmed] while also attending weddings, funerals, and other community gatherings,” he said.

The growing deployment of long-range drones has transformed the security environment for civilians, meaning communities can face attacks even when they are located far from areas of direct ground combat.

The UN official said the humanitarian consequences of drone warfare should not be assessed simply by counting those killed or wounded.

“The impact of these drones cannot be measured by counting civilian casualties alone,” Othman said. “But [the impact] must be understood through the services lost, the infrastructure destroyed, and the lasting disruption to daily life.”

The warning is particularly significant in a country where years of conflict have already severely damaged healthcare, education, water supply, electricity and other essential services.

The destruction of civilian infrastructure can have consequences long after an attack has ended, particularly for displaced populations and communities already struggling to obtain food, medicine and safe shelter.

The fact-finding mission also disclosed evidence it said points to an international network facilitating RSF military operations.

“We found reasonable grounds to believe the transnational network facilitated RSF military operations linking individuals and entities in the United Arab Emirates, Chad, southeastern Libya, and Puntland in Somalia,” Othman said.

The allegation highlights the increasingly international character of Sudan’s conflict, with military support, personnel and supply networks extending beyond Sudan’s borders.

The UAE has repeatedly denied allegations that it provides military support to the RSF. Sudanese authorities, however, have accused Abu Dhabi of backing the paramilitary group.

The UN findings are likely to add to international scrutiny of the role of foreign actors in the conflict and the mechanisms through which military resources allegedly reach the combatants.

Othman also disclosed evidence concerning the recruitment of foreign military personnel to support the RSF.

“The evidence also indicates the former Colombian military personnel were recruited, trained, and deployed to support the RSF,” he said.

He added that the mission had identified other foreign fighters operating in connection with the conflict.

“Foreign fighters from South Sudan, Chad, and Ethiopia have also been identified,” Othman said.

The allegations point to the growing regional and international dimensions of the war, which has increasingly drawn in actors and networks outside Sudan.

The involvement of foreign personnel also raises questions about the channels through which combatants are recruited, trained, transported and financed.

The fact-finding mission said accountability efforts would depend heavily on preserving evidence of alleged violations.

“Evidence must be preserved and made available to independent investigative and judicial bodies,” Othman said.

He also called for stronger protections for people who provide information about abuses.

The appeal comes amid widespread allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both sides of Sudan’s conflict.

The RSF and its allied forces have faced allegations of mass killings, sexual violence, forced displacement and other abuses, particularly in Darfur. The SAF has also faced allegations relating to airstrikes, shelling and attacks affecting civilian populations.

Both parties have denied various accusations and have repeatedly blamed each other for abuses.

Othman said accountability cannot stop with fighters who directly commit alleged crimes.

“Accountability efforts must extend across the full chain of responsibility,” he said.

He specifically identified those who “commit, order, finance, supply, or otherwise facilitate international crimes” as potentially falling within the scope of accountability efforts.

The UN investigator also called for immediate assistance to those who have survived attacks and other abuses.

“Survivors must receive immediate assistance and access to effective remedies and reparation,” Othman said.

Such assistance, he said, should form part of a wider accountability process that addresses both immediate humanitarian needs and longer-term justice.

Othman ended his appeal with a direct call for the conflict to stop.

He urged the SAF and RSF to comply fully with international law and take steps to protect civilians.

“The parties must comply fully with international human rights and humanitarian law, and take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects,” Othman said.

His remarks come as Sudan remains engulfed in a conflict that has displaced millions of people, destroyed critical infrastructure and triggered a severe humanitarian emergency.

The UN mission’s call for the Darfur arms embargo to be enforced and expanded nationwide reflects its assessment that limiting the flow of weapons and military assistance is an important component of protecting civilians and reducing the capacity of the warring parties to sustain the conflict.

But the mission’s findings also point to a wider challenge: military support allegedly reaching Sudan through foreign networks, fighters recruited from other countries and increasingly sophisticated weapons capable of extending attacks far beyond conventional frontlines.

For the UN fact-finding mission, stopping the war therefore requires more than a ceasefire between the SAF and RSF. It also requires scrutiny of the external networks that allegedly finance, supply, recruit for and otherwise sustain the conflict.

As Othman put it, accountability must follow the “full chain of responsibility” — from those who commit crimes on the ground to those who “finance, supply, or otherwise facilitate” them.