Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit secure the area in the East Nile province, on June 22, 2019.Hussein Malla/The Associated Press
The seizure in northern Darfur of a major weapons convoy, accompanied by Colombian smugglers with United Arab Emirates visas in their passports, is casting a new spotlight on foreign support for Sudan’s devastating war.
The convoy, including armoured vehicles and anti-tank missiles, was stopped by pro-government militia fighters in the remote deserts near Sudan’s borders with Libya and Chad. The weapons were reportedly intended for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the powerful paramilitary group that has been battling Sudan’s military since last year.
In videos released this week, the pro-government fighters displayed passports and identity cards taken from the Colombians. Visa stamps showed that they had been in the UAE last month, and the militia said the convoy included heavy weapons and ammunition from the oil-rich Gulf state.
The seizure has added to the growing controversy over the role of the UAE and other countries in fuelling the Sudan war, which has become the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, with 11 million people forced from their homes and 25 million facing extreme hunger or even famine.
New research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has estimated that more than 61,000 people died in the capital city of Khartoum alone in the first 14 months of the fighting, including 26,000 killed by violence. It estimated that 90 per cent of all deaths are unrecorded. The research lends credence to an earlier estimate by U.S. special envoy Tom Perriello, who said the war may have killed up to 150,000 people.
There has been widespread concern about foreign support for the two warring factions since the beginning, but there is mounting political pressure in the West to take measures to halt the flow of foreign weapons. The UAE has denied that it is supplying weapons to the RSF, but there have been persistent media reports about it for the past year.
Opinion: The horrific crisis in Sudan is being prolonged by foreign meddling
In the U.S. Congress this week, lawmakers pushed for action to condemn the crisis in Sudan. One resolution, adopted by a voice vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, accuses the RSF of committing atrocities and genocide in Darfur.
“For far too long, the world has stood by as we watch repeats of history, and as external actors – including the UAE, Russia and Iran – fuel the slaughter of innocents and the rape of women and children without repercussions,” said John James, a Republican who introduced the resolution.
In a separate move, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has introduced a Sudan Accountability Act to seek justice for the perpetrators of “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.”
The bill would require the U.S. State Department to make regular assessments of whether atrocities in Sudan are being supported by weapons from foreign governments, including China, Egypt, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
One of the bill’s sponsors is Republican Senator Jim Risch, who is expected to take over the leadership of the Foreign Relations Committee in January, as a result of the Republican victory in this month’s elections.
Another group of lawmakers, meanwhile, is seeking a more direct measure against the UAE to block any supply of weapons to the RSF. Under legislation introduced in the House and Senate, the United States would be forced to halt American weapons sales to the UAE until Washington has certified that the Gulf state is not arming the RSF.
The UAE has been a major buyer of U.S. weapons for many years. The legislation could block a recently announced sale of US$1.2-billion in rocket munitions.
“The UAE is one of the biggest outside actors fuelling the violence in Sudan and yet, the U.S. is on the brink of selling the UAE another $1.2-billion in weapons that could end up in the hands of the RSF,” said Representative Sara Jacobs, who introduced the House version of the legislation.
“The U.S. has the leverage to alleviate the suffering in Sudan; we need to use it now,” she said in a statement.
Recent reports by Amnesty International have documented the RSF’s use of armoured vehicles manufactured in the UAE. It reported that the vehicles are equipped with French-manufactured defence systems, potentially a violation of the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur.
According to a statement by the pro-government militia, the convoy seized in northern Darfur this week included seven armoured vehicles, 25 new four-wheel-drive vehicles and large quantities of ammunition and heavy weapons from the UAE’s armed forces, including Kornet anti-tank missiles.
“Our country is facing major conspiracies from countries and parties seeking to control its resources,” said Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, spokesperson for a coalition of pro-government militias in Darfur.