US proposes expanding UN Sudan arms embargo to entire country

The United States urged the UN Security Council on Monday to expand an arms embargo on the Sudanese region of Darfur to cover all of Sudan, saying the nation's brutal conflict risks regional expansion.

The Darfur arms embargo, in place for over two decades, is set to expire on September 12, 2026 if a new agreement is not reached.

Expanding the restrictions to all of Sudan would require a vote of the UN Security Council, with veto-holding Russia warning on Monday against new measures that would impact the Sudanese army.

US envoy to the meeting Massad Boulos called for the Council to take steps to curtail "external support" for the conflict that "risks drawing more regional actors and neighbors deeper into Sudan's conflict."

"That is why the United States has put forward a strong resolution that provides for four key things," beginning with "expanding the arms embargo across the entire territory of Sudan," he said.

The measure would also bring drones under the arms restriction regime and increase the number of experts scrutinizing the existing embargo.

The war, now in its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions as ever more sophisticated weaponry including armed drones are deployed to the battlefield, taking a deadly toll on civilians.

The army holds sway in Sudan's central and eastern regions, while the Darfur region in the west and parts of the south are under control of the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan's UN envoy urged a "technical extension" of the existing embargo, while warning against changes that would hamper the army.

"Sudan suffers the most from weapons and their illegal flow. However, expanding such a sanctions regime will weaken the protection of civilians," said Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed.

Before Washington's call, Rosemary Di Carlo, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned a "worrying aspect of the conflict in Sudan is its increasing complexity."

"The sophisticated weaponry used continues to point to ongoing external support to both parties", Di Carlo said.

"In recent weeks, fighting in Sudan has been characterized by the heavy use of drones and localized ground combat in areas less affected by rainy season conditions," she said.

Darfur, a vast western region that alone is the size of France, has faced some of the worst violence, with displacement camps invaded and repeated ethnic massacres killing thousands at a time.

Peacebuilding activist Eva Khair told the Security Council that "although they have denied such allegations, external actors are enabling this catastrophe."

"The role of multiple actors in supplying weapons, mercenaries, other forms of military assistance, and diplomatic cover to the RSF on the one hand, and military, logistical, financial assistance to the SAF (army) on the other illustrates the increasingly globalized nature of the war in Sudan.

"The council's arms embargo in Darfur must be enforced, and I urge you to expand it to the whole of Sudan."

gw