Khartoum has called upon the United Nations Security Council to fulfill its responsibility “towards the nations that fuel the ongoing war in Sudan (which it did not name) by providing the Rapid Support Forces with weapons, political and media support,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday. Governor of the Darfur region, Minni Minnawi, emphasized the unity of Sudan and denounced those who “sought foreign aid” to gain power.
In its statement, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said it had reviewed the UN monitors’ report on Darfur “regarding the war waged by the Rapid Support Forces and their supporters on the Sudanese people.”
The statement highlighted several facts from the report, including that “the victims of ethnic cleansing and genocide committed by the rebel militia (Rapid Support Forces) and their allies in West Darfur alone have reached between 10,000 to 15,000 civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.”
It stated that “the continuation of advanced arms supplies provided and facilitated by certain countries in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions is what enables the rebel militia to expand their military operations (…), prolonging the war and its geographical spread.”
The ministry’s statement requested the Security Council to classify the Rapid Support Forces as a “terrorist group” and criminalize dealings with it. It also urged the Council to “take responsibility towards the states that are fuelling the ongoing war in Sudan by supplying the militia with weapons, political and media support” and consider these actions as a crime of aggression punishable by justice.
Additionally, the ministry called for “tracking and dismantling the financing networks and commercial companies” supporting the Rapid Support Forces and “holding accountable the public relations and propaganda firms employed by the militia in the United States, Britain, Canada, and other countries.”
Earlier on Saturday, global media sources, including Reuters, reported a United Nations document presented to the Security Council stating that “between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed last year in a single city in West Darfur, Sudan, in ethnic violence perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militias (unspecified).”
The Unity of Sudan
In a related context, Governor of Darfur region, Minni Minnawi, affirmed that there can be no bargaining over the unity and sovereignty of Sudan and confronting foreign intervention. He mentioned that the Sudan Liberation Army forces stationed in the Northern state work in complete coordination with the armed forces and are a part of them.
During his meeting with the government and security committee of the Northern state chaired by Governor Abedin Awad Allah, he referred to “foreign hands in igniting the April 15 war, for political and economic purposes, resulting in the destruction of Sudan’s infrastructure, and wiping out its heritage, culture, and identity.”
The Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) reported his statement from the meeting that “those who ignited the war did so to seize power, using all inhumane means necessary.”
