The world has failed Sudan.
And many are not even aware of what is happening: genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Make no mistake: global inaction has enabled the world’s worst humanitarian crisis to take place. So here is a recap of the horror taking place, who is behind it, and what must be done.
🇸🇩 WHAT'S HAPPENING
- The militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has captured al-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur still under government control
- For 18 months, the RSF besieged the city, repeatedly bombing civilian areas and committing mass executionsand sexual violence
- It has blocked humanitarian aid and built a 56-kilometre earthen wall, cutting off all routes for food, medicine and escape
- Around 177,000 civilians remain trapped inside El Fasher
- More than 26,000 people fled in two days, most on foot, as the city fell
🩸 BACKGROUND
- The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF began in April 2023 after a violent power struggle between their leaders
- More than 150,000 people have been killed and 14 million displaced
- 24 million people are now hungry, meaning two out of every three Sudanese depend on humanitarian aid
- Sudan has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
💰 WHO IS BEHIND IT
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been supplying weapons and funds to the RSF
- Countries such as the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, Türkiye and Canada continue to export arms to the UAE, even though these weapons end up in Sudan
- The RSF controls gold mines in Darfur, and the UAE is a major global gold trading hub
⚖️ WHAT MUST BE DONE
This is what the UN should have ensured happened a long time ago:
- Impose a full arms embargo on Sudan
- Stop countries from exporting weapons to the UAE, which channels them to the RSF
- Sanction the RSF and its backers, including the UAE
- Prosecute those responsible for war crimes and illegal arms exports
- Hold the UAE accountable, as it has the leverage to pressure the RSF to stop
- Guarantee humanitarian access for trapped civilians and deliver urgent aid before famine kills millions more
Sources:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyld9w0283o
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/28/mass-killings-reported-el-fasher-sudan-paramilitary-group-rapid-support-forces
- https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/10/29/fears-of-mass-atrocities-after-sudans-el-fasher-falls-to-paramilitaries
- https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/forgotten-and-neglected-war-torn-sudan-has-become-worlds-leading-displacement-crisis
- https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/sudan
- https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/oct/28/uk-military-equipment-rapid-support-forces-rsf-militia-accused-genocide-found-sudan-united-nations?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/05/sudan-advanced-chinese-weaponry-provided-by-uae-identified-in-breach-of-arms-embargo-new-investigation/
- https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-sudan-war-armoured-vehicles-canadian-owned-company/
- https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/uae-rsf-gold-mines-fund-genocide-in-sudan