The US pushes for a ceasefire in Sudan’s civil war as Kordofan violence escalates. sudan war news

The United States is pressing for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan as fighting in the vast strategic Kordofan region intensifies, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning that the continued violence is “appalling” and that all involved will face lasting condemnation.

Speaking at a year-end news conference on Friday, Rubio said the fighting in Sudan needs to stop, adding that the new year is “a great opportunity for both sides to agree on this” and will allow desperately needed aid to reach the millions of people trapped in the conflict.

His comments come as violence in Kordofan has killed at least 100 civilians and displaced more than 50,000 people since the beginning of December.

“What’s happening there is horrific; it’s dastardly,” Rubio said, adding that “one day the story of what really happened there will be known and everyone involved will feel bad.”

Washington has stepped up diplomatic efforts following a meeting between President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in late November, with US special envoy Massad Boulos recently returning from talks with officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Rubio said he has had discussions with leaders from across the region in collaboration with the United Kingdom.

The top US diplomat cited external arms supplies as a key factor maintaining the war between the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now in its third brutal year.

“All of these weapons are obtained from abroad. “They have to come from somewhere else and they have to come from somewhere else,” Rubio said. He said external actors have the capacity needed to bring both sides to the negotiating table.

According to conflict monitors, the UAE provides direct material support to the RSF through a network extending to neighbouring countries, although Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied this.

Meanwhile, the SAF has close ties with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, while the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are also involved in mediation efforts.

Rubio acknowledged the difficulty of achieving a ceasefire, saying that parties often agree to commitments but fail to implement them, especially when one side believes the battlefield dynamics are in its favour.

“We have emphasised that none of these groups can operate without outside support,” Rubio said, describing the United States’ role in convening the parties and encouraging outside actors to use their influence.

Fighting shifts to Kordofan

The worst fighting has now shifted from Darfur to Kordofan, where RSF and allied fighters have shelled residential areas of Dilling over the past two days, killing at least 16 people, including women, elderly residents and children, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and an important transportation hub linking South Sudan, East Sudan and Darfur, appears to be the next likely target, according to Mohammed Refait, head of mission for the International Organization for Migration in Sudan.

He warned that if the fighting reached the city, more than half a million people could be affected.

On 13 December, six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed when drones attacked their base in Kadugli. The UN Security Council condemned it on Friday, calling it a “heinous and deliberate” attack that could amount to a war crime.

The World Health Organization said on Friday that attacks on medical facilities in Sudan have caused more than 80 per cent of deaths from such attacks globally this year. Since the conflict began in April 2023, WHO has confirmed 201 attacks on healthcare facilities, resulting in 1,858 deaths.

The Sudan Doctors Network said on Thursday that in Nyala, the self-declared capital of the RSF’s parallel government, 64 medical workers were detained after nine were released from the original group of 73.

The African Union envoy to Sudan this week rejected any parallel entity on Sudanese soil and condemned what he described as systematic RSF attacks against civilians, saying the perpetrators would not go unpunished.

Both the RSF and SAF have been accused of war crimes, with the RSF also facing allegations of genocide in Darfur, particularly in al-Fashar.

More than 100,000 people have been killed and 14 million displaced in Sudan’s war, which the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.