International Forum Condemns El Fasher Siege, Holding RSF and UAE Responsible for Hundreds of Deaths

Sudan Events – Agencies

The Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) convened an online symposium on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, to address Sudan’s ongoing civil war, with particular focus on the siege of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, which remains under army control. The forum highlighted the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has triggered acute shortages of food, medicine, and fuel, soaring prices, and widespread hunger. Speakers also examined the regional and international dynamics fueling the conflict.

The event featured a distinguished panel with deep expertise on Sudan and the broader region, including: Endre Stiansen, former Norwegian ambassador to Sudan and current Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa; Timothy Michael Carney, former U.S. ambassador to Sudan; Adama Gaye, former ECOWAS communications director; Patson Maliza, international relations adviser; Martin Plaut, former BBC Africa editor; Aicha Elbasri, researcher at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha and former UNAMID spokesperson; and Leni Kinzl, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan. Each delivered unique insights into the humanitarian, political, and international dimensions of the crisis.

Ambassador Timothy Carney
Carney described the atrocities in Sudan as ethnic cleansing, marked by killings, rapes, and unchecked violence. He stressed that such crimes require accountability and cannot be ignored. He pointed to the grave risks facing aid convoys, with trucks torched and humanitarian workers killed. Drawing on past experience, he suggested WFP airdrops as a potential lifeline—citing El Fasher stadium as a possible site—but warned of dangers posed by RSF fire.

Carney underscored the destructive role of foreign actors, singling out the United Arab Emirates for backing RSF commander Hemedti in pursuit of gold and influence over Port Sudan. He called this a grave miscalculation, urging the Arab and Islamic world to hold the UAE accountable. He concluded that confronting both internal perpetrators and their external sponsors is essential for any credible resolution.

Ambassador Endre Stiansen
Stiansen stressed the urgency of spotlighting Sudan’s tragedy, particularly in Darfur. From his position as Norway’s envoy, he noted that Sudan and South Sudan remain long-standing priorities for Oslo. The war, he said, has triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis, with people in Darfur—including El Fasher—dying daily from hunger.

He emphasized that famine and atrocities are man-made and preventable, calling for an immediate ceasefire and an inclusive political process leading to democratic transition. He condemned aid obstruction and repeated attacks on relief convoys, citing the recent incident near Mellit, and insisted that weaponizing food is unacceptable.

Stiansen urged extending the UN Fact-Finding Mission’s mandate by two years at the upcoming Human Rights Council session, calling independent documentation of crimes vital. “The people of Sudan, of Darfur, of El Fasher have not lost hope—neither should the international community,” he said.

Aicha Elbasri
Elbasri argued that El Fasher’s crisis cannot be separated from Sudan’s wider context. While RSF has committed massacres, obstructed aid, and targeted relief workers, she stressed that it bears primary responsibility for the siege and starvation. She warned of state collapse as RSF seeks to establish parallel authority, eroding national sovereignty.

She highlighted the breakdown of multilateralism, with the UN and Security Council losing influence and Sudan falling to the bottom of global priorities. Elbasri criticized failed negotiation tracks—such as Jeddah talks and IGAD efforts—and the ineffectiveness of the Troika (US, UK, Norway). She noted that regional states hold the real leverage: Egypt, Iran, and Turkey backing the army, while the UAE, Libya, and Sahel networks support RSF.

Only the U.S., she argued, can pressure these actors, pointing to initiatives such as the Sudan Quad (US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE). She concluded that steering these powers toward a deal that delivers civilian governance is the only way to save El Fasher, Darfur, and Sudan.

Adama Gaye
Gaye recalled past engagements with Sudanese leaders, contrasting earlier international attention with today’s silence despite worsening suffering. He insisted that Africa must own its crises, urging the African Union to prioritize Sudan and lamenting the failure of its “Silencing the Guns by 2020” agenda.

He stressed the need to mobilize global awareness, recalling how civil society pressured China during the 2008 Darfur crisis by threatening Olympic boycotts. He said African civil society and media now have even greater opportunities to rally opinion.

Gaye linked Sudan’s war to Africa’s broader challenges of rule of law, democracy, and governance, warning against leaders’ tendencies to stifle dissent. The solution, he argued, lies in genuine African ownership, inclusive dialogue, and robust civil society engagement.

Leni Kinzl
Kinzl painted a grim humanitarian picture: by December 2024, 25 million Sudanese faced acute hunger, with current numbers likely worse. She confirmed famine in El Fasher, starting at Zamzam camp, with people dying of hunger and others resorting to eating “ambaar” (peanut shells used as animal fodder).

She said coping mechanisms had collapsed, community kitchens shut down, and aid convoys were under deadly attack. In June, five aid workers were killed in one assault; in July, three more trucks were destroyed near Mellit. Kinzl demanded an immediate humanitarian pause and full lifting of the siege to allow aid access. She warned that similar crises loom in Kadugli, South Kordofan, under a comparable but overlooked siege.

Martin Plaut
Plaut praised peace efforts but cautioned against false optimism, dismissing the slogan “Africa must solve its own problems.” He cited the failures of costly AU interventions, saying the AU cannot end Sudan’s war alone. He doubted the Trump administration’s willingness to act, pointing to its tolerance of atrocities in Gaza and Ukraine.

He held the UAE, Russia, and Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar chiefly responsible for prolonging the war through gold and mercenaries. He explained that UAE support flows through multiple routes—including Uganda—while Sudanese gold finances Russia’s war in Ukraine. Without confronting this reality, Plaut warned, Sudan’s war will persist amid famine and death, with little hope of U.S. action under Trump.

Patson Maliza
Maliza said the violations in Sudan threaten human dignity at an unprecedented level, insisting on the need to restore hope for dialogue and peace. He condemned the denial of aid to displaced people as a breach of international law and a crime against humanity.

He argued that foreign interference and mercenary sponsorship have turned Sudan’s war into an international massacre, urging urgent global action and rejection of “silent diplomacy.” He reminded the world that Sudan’s geography and resources make it integral to the international community, stressing that its stability serves global interests far better than its collapse.

“This is not just politics or geography,” Maliza concluded. “It is about people’s lives—children and women.”

The symposium concluded that the siege of El Fasher and the famine sweeping Sudan constitute a compounded crime, with responsibility shared by local, regional, and international actors. It urged immediate lifting of the siege, unhindered aid delivery, and accountability for war crimes as urgent priorities that brook no delay.