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September 23, 2024

Heavy Fighting in Sudan's El Fasher Leads to Fears of Greater Regional Violence
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In Sudan, the U.N. is calling for an immediate halt to intensified
fighting in the western Darfur city of El Fasher, which has been under
siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for five months. Fighters
have targeted Black Sudanese communities in El Fasher as fears mount of
more widespread ethnically motivated attacks. Famine has been declared
in a refugee camp near El Fasher amid a spiraling humanitarian
catastrophe. This is Martha Pobee, assistant secretary-general for
Africa, speaking at the U.N. last week.

Martha Pobee: "Even while millions of lives are at risk across Sudan,
hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in El Fasher are now at risk
of the consequences of mass violence as fighting engulfs the city. … The
stakes could not be higher. The risk of the escalation of fighting
fueling a dangerous ethnic dimension of this conflict is well known. So
are the destabilizing effects for the entire region."

On Friday, a group of Democratic lawmakers sent President Biden a letter
voicing concerns over the UAE's support of the RSF, ahead of Biden's
meeting today with Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at the
White House.


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