This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.
A genocide may be about to quietly unfold in Sudan. But it’s not too late to stop it. President Trump and U.S. officials must increase pressure on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which holds considerable sway over the RSF, to stop the disaster and save the nearly 1 million Sudanese civilians at risk.
The RSF controls all the Darfur region in western Sudan except for one town—el Fasher. Experts have been warning about the dire situation in el Fasher since the RSF began besieging the town in April 2024. Over a year later, the RSF—with Emirati backing—is escalating efforts to capture the town once and for all. While the town’s defenders cling on, the RSF made its first major incursion into the town in July and has surged reinforcements to the area in August.
The RSF has created a humanitarian disaster in el Fasher. The siege has displaced 780,000 people and trapped at least 900,000 civilians in the town and surrounding refugee camps. Making matters worse, the RSF has blocked humanitarian assistance from entering the area, leaving those trapped in the town—primarily women and children—surviving on animal feed and food waste and facing famine and starvation.
The RSF’s starving of el Fasher is one of many war crimes, including crimes against humanity, that it has committed. The group overran the Zamzam refugee camp on el Fasher’s southern outskirts in April, which locals say killed over 1,500 people, making it the second-largest atrocity of the war. A recent Guardian report vividly detailed the nearly 72-hour slaughter that the RSF inflicted on those in the camp. Among the atrocities are widespread summary executions of civilians, including women and children, forcible deportation, and rape—all of which are crimes against humanity under international law.
The RSF’s brutality extends to acts of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide. RSF militants systematically targeted non-Arab ethnic civilians during the assault on Zamzam. The largest atrocity in the war occurred when the RSF captured el Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state. The result was exponentially worse than Zamzam. The RSF killed up to 15,000 civilians in a “systematic” mass ethnic cleansing campaign against the Massalit—a non-Arab ethnic group—that lasted several months, which the United States declared a genocide. The RSF’s despicable behavior should surprise no one, given the group grew out of the infamous Janjaweed militias that perpetrated the 2000s Darfur genocide.
El Geneina and Zamzam are a preview of the horror that will likely unfold in el Fasher, but the scale will be much larger. Compared to the nearly 900,000 civilians trapped in the el Fasher area, el Geneina had a pre-war population of nearly 540,000, and Zamzam housed nearly 400,000 refugees. The United Nations and other international observers have warned repeatedly that the RSF could perpetrate a genocide if it captures el Fasher.
The United States should encourage the UAE to use its influence over the RSF to avert disaster. Significant evidence from the United Nations and others indicate that the UAE is supporting the RSF, including in the current offensive. The UAE has likely helped facilitate reinforcements for the RSF campaign, including by helping set up a support hub in southeastern Libya and—according to the SAF—helping bring Colombian mercenaries into western Sudan.
Aside from engaging the UAE directly, the United States should work with others in relevant multilateral institutions, such as the African Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and UN, to create a united front. U.S. officials should continue to speak out and channel these words into actions, such as backing resolutions and possible multilateral sanctions against the RSF, UAE, and any other RSF backers before and during the upcoming UN General Assembly in September. Abu Dhabi already allegedly stopped a previous assault on el Fasher, when it reportedly told the RSF to call off an attack following a UN resolution in June 2024.
The U.S. should make clear that capturing el Fasher will be punished—not rewarded—in upcoming peace talks. The U.S. planned to hold peace talks with the major regional players tied to the war—Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—in July. However, the talks were postponed until at least September, after the UAE insisted on “last-minute amendment” to the planned joint statement that would ban the SAF from a postwar transitional process, which Egypt—an SAF ally—rejected. Intentional or not, the delay contributed to the current moment by giving the RSF a window to launch its latest assault and gain more leverage before talks resume.
Even if a crisis is temporarily averted, the United States and international community must develop a long-term plan to save the civilians in el Fasher, who will continue to be unsafe as long as the RSF controls the area. One option is establishing an AU or UN civilian protection force, as both organizations jointly did during the 2000s Darfur genocide. Given that the international will for such a force likely does not exist, an alternative option is a humanitarian evacuation of these civilians out of RSF-held territory as a “measure of last resort.”
These efforts require sustained diplomatic engagement, which President Trump can secure by appointing an envoy to Sudan. Trump’s Africa advisor, Massad Boulous, has done a commendable job engaging all factions involved in the war, but he is one person covering the whole continent, and Sudan needs more focused attention. The Senate and House have shown bipartisan support for an envoy. Time is of the essence, and appointing an envoy will help address current and future crises and long-term peace efforts.
Sudan has not received the attention it deserves as the world’s largest humanitarian and refugee crisis, but Trump has thankfully taken an interest. In the 2000s, the world failed to keep its promise of “never again” to the Sudanese people. Trump can avoid a repeat and ensure that the world’s promise is fulfilled.
Liam Karr is the Africa team lead for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute.
This article was originally published by RealClearWorld and made available via RealClearWire.
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