Two US lawmakers said Friday that the United Arab Emirates has violated its promises and kept arming Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, which Washington has accused of genocide. The two Democrats last month agreed to lift objections to a $1.2 billion arms sale to the UAE by the then administration of fellow Democrat Joe Biden after the White House said the Gulf power assured it was "not now transferring any weapons" to the paramilitary group (Read more at Barrons).
Washington announced the measures just a week after imposing sanctions on Burhan’s rival in the two-year-old civil war, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Two sources with knowledge of the action told Reuters one aim of Thursday’s sanctions was to show that Washington was not picking sides. Speaking earlier on Thursday, Burhan was defiant about the prospect that he might be targeted. Washington also issued sanctions over the supply of weapons to the army, targeting a Sudanese-Ukrainian national as well as a Hong Kong-based company (Read more at NBCNews).
Two lawmakers said the United Arab Emirates made the promise to address their concerns and that as a result, they would drop their attempt to block $1.2 billion in arms sales to the Gulf power (Read more at Defense Post).
The legislation would sanction leaders on both sides of Sudan’s civil war and prohibit the sale of American weapons to countries fueling the conflict. It would require the U.S. president to submit a strategy to Congress for ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid and establishing peace in Sudan. It also would establish a five-year term for a special presidential envoy for Sudan to coordinate U.S. policy and diplomatic efforts (Read more at MSN).
US Senator, Chris Van Hollen, has introduced legislation seeking to halt American weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates until the United States certifies that the UAE is not arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. “The UAE is an important partner in the Middle East, but the United States cannot sit idly by as it aids and abets the humanitarian disaster in Sudan – we must use our leverage to try to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution,” Van Hollen said in a statement (Read more at Middle East Monitor).
“The decision came at the 11th hour by the outgoing US administration as a desperate attempt to make up for its failure to take concrete action against the main culprit prolonging the war in Sudan: the UAE,” a senior Sudanese diplomat (Read more at Middle East Eye).
Under Joe Biden, Washington did not engage with the crisis in Sudan at a high level. Under Trump, it will likely be a pawn in a regional deal. Not long after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections was confirmed, Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced that he was looking forward to “developing relations between our two countries during his presidency for the benefit of both countries”. Burhan’s ally-turned-enemy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief better known as Hemeti, was not far behind, extending his congratulations through the paramilitary group’s media office (Read more at Middle East Eye).
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the need to stop the fighting in Sudan and the need to support efforts to form a civilian government during a Friday call with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the State Department said in a statement (Read more at CNBC).
White House spokesperson John Kirby said the visit would be the first-ever by a president of the Gulf Arab country to Washington, adding that Vice President Kamala Harris would meet separately with the UAE leader. Discussions would also focus on climate, clean energy and UAE's role as a partner in the Group of Seven's global infrastructure partnership, Kirby told reporters (Read more at Gulf Today).
However, the army said it would not attend the peace talks in Switzerland unless a previous agreement struck in Jeddah is implemented. The United States is currently brokering ceasefire talks in an undisclosed location in Switzerland, which the army’s adversaries the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are attending, but the army has shunned (Read more at AlMayadeen).
Talks to end Sudan's 16-month war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) will move forward this week, despite little sign from either party that they seek a peaceful resolution (Read more at USNews).
The peace talks, slated to begin on August 14, are planned to address the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group (Read more at TRTAfrica).
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on other nations to step up their aid. "This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world ... People are eating dirt to survive relying on tree leaves for nutrition," she told reporters. The U.N. says nearly 25 million people - half of Sudan's population - need aid, famine is looming and 10 million people have fled their homes. More than 2.2 million of those people have left for other countries (Read more USNews).
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said, “the U.S. must do more to empower Sudanese civilians ... and continue to support a transition to a civilian-led government.” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said the administration’s sanctions policy is “uncoordinated and not part of a larger strategy to achieve a lasting ceasefire.” He also called on the White House to target countries that supply weapons and materiel to both sides of this conflict (Read more at Politico).
Sudan has descended into crisis since the war between the army led by Gen Al Burhan, the country's de facto leader, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by his former ally Gen Mohamed Dagalo, began in April last year. Saudi Arabia was expected to host a round of peace talks earlier this month in Jeddah. However, Gen Al Burhan has said there will be no peace in Sudan until the military defeats the RSF, throwing any chances of a resumption of ceasefire talks into doubt (Read more at The National).
