The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio with tough questions during a hearing, including on the crisis in Sudan.
Democratic Senator Cory Booker asked the Secretary of State whether he had spoken with the UAE about its support for a particular side in the Sudanese conflict through the provision of arms.
Rubio said that the U.S. had spoken with the UAE and other countries, stating that what is happening in Sudan is being turned into a proxy war, which destabilizes the region. He also expressed hope that a special envoy to Sudan would be appointed soon.
Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen delivered harsh criticism to the Secretary of State, saying: “The freezing of humanitarian aid in Sudan forced the closure of nearly 80% of food relief kitchens there, leaving two million people facing famine. People were left without access to food. People died because of these measures—mothers, fathers, children. Tons of emergency food supplies that could have saved lives were left to rot in warehouses because you and Elon Musk refuse to allow USAID to carry out its work in Sudan, where the administration itself has described the conflict in Darfur as a genocide.”
He added, “But here, the situation goes from cruel to monstrous—food aid is being cut off from Sudanese families living under an actual genocide, while at the same time, asylum requests from white South Africans are being expedited under the false claim that they are victims of genocide.”
