Congress Presses Biden on Sudan Amid 'Crisis of Epic Proportions'

With top UN and African Union officials warning that the year-long war in Sudan has reached "a crisis of epic proportions" - and no end in sight, senior members of the U.S. Congress are pressing President Biden to consider sanctioning the Rapid Support Forces, one of the two warring Sudanese military factions, "for gross violations of human rights," as required under U.S. law.

The appeal to the American president was made in a letter from the ranking Democratic and Republican members of the Senate and House foreign relations committees. The chair of the Senate Committee, Ben Cardin of Maryland, also issued a plea on the Senate floor for increased assistance from the United States and other international donors for war-affected civilians in Sudan and neighboring countries.

'Both parties have done a miserable job of showing any respect for the Sudanese people," U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello told Dabanga in an interview. He welcomed the announcement by Saudi Arabia of a new round of peace talks "within the next three weeks". But those talks are not likely to succeed, CSIS senior fellow Cameron Hudson told Dabanga, unless they include all parties, including those providing support to the warring factions. The Saudies have rejected participation by the major Rapid Support Forces backer - the United Arab Emiretes (UAE), Hudson said.

Health conditions in Sudan are deteriorating as conflict in the country continues to impact the lives of millions in the country and force millions more to flee.

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