WASHINGTON

The continued supply of increasingly deadly weapons is fueling the devastating war in Sudan, and those enabling the conflict will be held accountable, a senior UN official warned Monday.

“The continued supply of weapons – increasingly sophisticated and deadly -- remains a key driver of the conflict. Sudan is saturated with arms,” Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the UN Security Council. “Calls to end these flows have gone unheeded, and there has been no accountability.”

“Meanwhile, the parties remain unwilling to compromise or de-escalate. While they were able to stop fighting to preserve oil revenues, they have so far failed to do the same to protect their population,” he added.

He stressed the need for strong Security Council action as mediation efforts continue.

“We urge the Council to send a clear and united message: those who enable this war will be held accountable,” Khiari said.

He cited recent violence in the Kordofan region, including a Dec. 4 drone attack that hit a kindergarten and later a hospital, killing more than 100 people, including 63 children, calling civilian suffering “immense” and “unimaginable.”

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023, following the collapse of a transition toward civilian rule. On Oct. 26 of this year, RSF forces overran El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after a 500-day siege, triggering mass displacement and leaving civilians trapped with little access to food.

Sudan presents four-step peace initiative

Sudan’s Transitional Prime Minister Kamil El-Tayeb Idris presented the Council with what he called the Government of Sudan Peace Initiative. Idris said it aims “to end a cycle of violence that has failed Sudan for decades,” protect civilians and preserve the country’s unity.

He outlined four steps, including a comprehensive ceasefire under joint monitoring by the UN, the African Union and the Arab League, the withdrawal and disarmament of militia forces, and the unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance to all populations in need.

US condemns 'horrific violence,' calls for immediate end to fighting

Ambassador Jeff Bartos, who serves as the US Representative for UN Management and Reform, also condemned the “horrific violence” in the “strongest terms,” specifically denouncing the Dec. 13 targeting of UN peacekeepers in Kadugli, South Kordofan.

Bartos said “the onus is on the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces to end this horrifying conflict.”

Noting that “under (US) President (Donald) Trump’s leadership and at his direct instruction,” he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s senior adviser Massad Boulos have proposed a humanitarian truce.

“We urge both belligerents to accept this plan without preconditions, immediately,” he said, calling for full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan.

China’s representative to the UN, Fu Cong, also called for an immediate end to the fighting, urging all parties to “prioritize the well-being of the Sudanese people” and to “cease hostilities immediately and unconditionally.”

He also called on “all external forces to refrain from providing military support to local armed groups.”

Dmitry A. Polyanskiy, the First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, said the “only viable path to peace is a broad, inclusive, intra Sudanese dialog.”

“Decisions about Sudan's future must be made by the Sudanese themselves, without external pressure or prescriptions,” he told the Security Council.