Sudanese families wait with their luggage at a camp centre next to the port to be processed for evacuation, following the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum, on May 4.EL TAYEB SIDDIG/Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden has signed an order authorizing sanctions in Sudan as his intelligence officials cast doubt on any hope of an early end to the heavy fighting between military and paramilitary forces that has devastated the country and forced more than 440,000 people to abandon their homes.
Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured in massive battles that have included air strikes, artillery shelling, street fighting and widespread looting since mid-April. The United Nations is expecting 860,000 people to flee from Sudan in the coming weeks. Nearly 114,000 have already left the country, while a further 330,000 have been displaced inside the country.
“The violence taking place in Sudan is a tragedy – and it is a betrayal of the Sudanese people’s clear demand for civilian government and a transition to democracy,” Mr. Biden said in a statement on Thursday as he signed the executive order on sanctions.
He said the sanctions, if imposed, would “hold individuals responsible for threatening the peace, security, and stability of Sudan; undermining Sudan’s democratic transition; using violence against civilians; or committing serious human rights abuses.”
A series of announced ceasefires have been routinely violated in the capital, Khartoum, and other towns and cities across Sudan. Some of the fiercest clashes have been around the Presidential Palace in Khartoum this week. The palace is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the powerful paramilitary force that is battling against Sudan’s armed forces, but air strikes have damaged the building.
Fighting has also damaged dozens of hospitals and other public buildings, forcing medical staff to evacuate and leaving millions of people without access to water, food and health care.
“The fighting in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces is, we assess, likely to be protracted as both sides believe that they can win militarily and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table,” U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a Senate hearing on Thursday.
“Both sides are seeking external sources of support, which, if successful, is likely to intensify the conflict and create a greater potential for spillover challenges in the region,” she told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
According to the Sudan government, 550 people have died and nearly 5,000 injured in the fighting that erupted on April 15. But the true number is believed to be much higher, since the fighting is concentrated in densely populated areas.
“Sudan’s warring armies are showing reckless disregard for civilian lives by using inaccurate weapons in populated urban areas,” Human Rights Watch researcher Mohamed Osman said in a statement on Thursday.
“Rockets, bombs and other types of explosive weapons are killing and wounding civilians and damaging infrastructure critical for access to water and medical care.”
Many of the refugees are twice-displaced victims of violence. They had first sought shelter in Sudan, years ago, from neighbouring war-torn countries. Now they are on the move again, with about 33,000 already returning to South Sudan in less than three weeks.
Canada pledges $71-million in aid for Sudan, South Sudan and Central African Republic
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said it is appealing for US$445-million to support refugees who will reach Ethiopia, Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. “There are food, water and fuel shortages, limited access to transport, communications and electricity, and skyrocketing prices of basic items,” said Raouf Mazou, the UNHCR assistant high commissioner for operations.
The medical charity Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said it is sending an emergency surgical team and medical supplies to Sudan’s capital. “The humanitarian situation in Khartoum is catastrophic,” it said in a tweet.
The Canadian government has not announced whether it will authorize its own sanctions in Sudan, although it has not ruled them out. “Sanctions are on the table,” said Adrien Blanchard, press secretary to Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, in response to questions from The Globe and Mail. “Those responsible for this violence must be held accountable.”
Nicholas Coghlan, a former Canadian ambassador to Sudan, said Canada and other Western countries should have imposed sanctions on the RSF and military commanders in 2021 after they led a coup to push civilian leaders out of government. But sanctions today might deter the commanders from participating in ceasefire talks, sparking a bigger all-out war, he told The Globe.
Instead of sanctions, the West should try to disrupt the gold-trading networks and other financial channels that have allowed the military and paramilitary leaders to enrich themselves, Mr. Coghlan said.
Geoffrey York