UN mission seeks wider arms embargo, 'impartial force' deployed to Sudan

Both sides in Sudan's conflict have committed abuses on a large scale which may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity, a UN-mandated mission said, recommending an arms embargo and a peacekeeping force to protect civilians.

The 19-page report by a UN Fact-Finding Mission, based on 182 interviews with survivors, their family members and witnesses, claimed that both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were responsible for attacks on civilians and had used torture and carried out arbitrary arrests.

"The gravity of these findings underscores the urgent and immediate action to protect civilians," said the mission's chair Mohamed Chande Othman, calling for an independent and impartial force to be deployed without delay.

Friday's report is the three-member mission’s first since its creation in October 2023 by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Civilians in Sudan are facing worsening famine, mass displacement and disease after 17 months of clashes between the army and the RSF paramilitary.

Earlier this month, talks in Geneva convened by the United States, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia made some headway in getting aid into Sudan, but mediators lamented the lack of participation of Sudan’s armed forces. Egypt, the UAE, the African Union and the United Nations were also involved in the talks.

Untold thousands of people killed

The conflict that erupted in April last year has killed untold thousands of people, and humanitarian groups are struggling to gain access to people in need.

In December, the UN Security Council voted to end the world body's political mission in the country.

“Given the failure of the parties to protect civilians so far, the fact-finding mission recommends the deployment of an independent and impartial force with a mandate to protect civilians in Sudan,” the team's report said.

The experts did not specify what might make up that force, nor did they say which countries might be complicit in the crimes through their backing of rival sides.

“The fact-finding mission considers that fighting will stop once the arms flow stops," the report added.

It called for an immediate end to funneling weapons, ammunition and other support to any side.