Rubio Says ‘External Actors’ Sabotaging US Peace Efforts in Sudan

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has blamed “external actors” for sabotaging American peace efforts in Sudan.

Speaking at a Sept. 23 press conference in New York, where he was attending the U.N. General Assembly, Rubio called the humanitarian situation in the African country “catastrophic and horrifying.” He expressed frustration at the lack of progress being made in ending the civil war that has raged for more than three years.

His comments followed a Sept. 22 State Department statement that said neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have made “serious commitments to an immediate truce and instead have redoubled combat operations” despite repeated requests from Washington.

Asked about the statement, Rubio said he had a team working full time on Sudan but that every time it appeared that progress was being made toward a ceasefire, one side or the other would “back off because they think they’re winning.”

“We’ve had people agree to things, sign to things, and the commitments are never met,” he said, adding, “We all recognize that what’s happening in Sudan would not be happening were it not for external action on one side or the other, and it’s growing increasingly frustrating.”

Rubio said he would not single out the external actors, but told reporters, “you know who they are.”

“I would say that ultimately, until those external actors are prepared to use and influence and pressure their respective proxy to live up to the commitments that they’re making, we’re not going to make progress,” he said.

Washington views neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the RSF as representing “legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan,” saying in the Sept. 22 State Department statement that both “rule through force of arms alone.”

“The conduct of each leader of the warring factions renders them ineligible to govern the country.  We seek to restore peace and give power back to the Sudanese people,” the statement said.

The war has devastated Africa’s third-largest nation, as the violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF rages on, pushing large parts of the country into famine.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said in August that the true death toll for the conflict is “likely in the hundreds of thousands, and that around 13 million people have been displaced amid widespread atrocities, including mass killings, sexual violence, child recruitment, attacks on hospitals and drone strikes on civilian infrastructure.”

The United States called for an arms embargo to push the warring factions to the negotiating table at the U.N. Security Council in June, but this move was opposed by Russia, which backs the Sudanese Armed Forces and holds veto power on the council.

As a result, only a partial embargo on Sudan’s western Darfur region has been agreed upon. This was extended on Sept. 11 for one month, as negotiations on the countrywide ban continue.

Anna Evstigneeva, Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, said that Moscow made its “red lines” clear during closed negotiations.

“We will not allow even a hint of broadening the restrictions by the council on Sudan,” she said.