Funding and weapons support fort the Rapid Support Forces must be cut off: US State Secretary Marco Rubio

Questioned on Darfur, Sudan, Us State Secretary said that the US is currently engaged with the Quartet to come up with a solution. The US State Secretary underlined that in the immediate term, funding and weapons support to the RSF needs to be cut off and that the US is talking to the parties involved in the Quartet to effectively stop this support. The State Secretary refused to mention any names but it is evident that he was referring to the United Arab Emirates which is the backer of the RSF among the Quarter members. The other members are Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

President Trump previously avoided speaking on the massacre of Al-Fashir after his allies, the UAE, tried to divert the US President’s attention to the plight of Christians in Nigeria. This is the first time that the US government has made remarks on Sudan that highlighted the the UAE’s backing of the RSF in the ongoing war in Sudan.

The US State Secretary also said that the RSF makes pledges in negotiations which then doesn’t keep and also rebuffed their claims that the massacres in Al-Fashir were the exceptional and sole acts of some rogue elements: he added that the RSF is massacring people systematically. The US State Secretary was clearly rebuffing remarks made by RSF Leader Hemedti, who said that they will be opening an investigation on the massacre in Al-Fashir. Abu Lulu, who was arrested in a staged video, was released soon after to continue with his daily routine. The International Criminal Court is investigating.

The US State Secretary said that what is happening in Al-Fashir is horrifying and the US government’s concern is about the immigrants in the city who did not flee. He said that they worry that these people may not be able to flee due to health conditions or that they may have even been killed. Up to 100,000 people remain unaccounted for in Al-Fashir.

He also highlighted that the RSF think they are winning and are committing many atrocities including mass rape. He reiterated that what is most shocking to them is that the number of refugees is much less than expected and this is rising concerns about the fate of the people who remained in the city.

The SAF has agreed to a ceasefire on the condition that the RSF disarms.

Maltese Herald

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