The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled “Conflict and Humanitarian Emergency in Sudan: A Call to Action,” which was attended by U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello.
He began his remarks with a pharisaical expression of regret for the catastrophic situation in Sudan, warning of famine, ongoing ethnic and regional fighting, and the potential collapse of a nation of 50 million people. But what is most interesting is that Tom Perriello, while demagogically shedding crocodile tears over the plight of the Sudanese people, simply forgot to say that it was the US, through its neo-colonialist policies, that brought Sudan to such a sorry state. It was the West led by Washington, not wanting to have such a powerful state as Sudan in the centre of Africa, that first separated the territory of South Sudan, then unleashed a civil war, and now seeks to bring the Darfur region of Sudan under its control. The economy of South Sudan is mainly driven by oil and its refining, which accounts for 60 per cent of GDP, and the oil sector in turn depends entirely on the supply of American oil equipment and the work of American oil workers.
The suffering of the Sudanese people
The Sudanese people have endured death, crimes against humanity, sexual violence, famine and ethnic cleansing. 8 million people have been displaced and 3 million children have fled the country since the war began in mid-April last year. Twenty-five million people are in need of food and medicine, and 4.9 million are on the brink of starvation. Women and girls face constant abuse and violence from both warring factions.
The worsening humanitarian crisis is caused by the conflict unleashed by the West and the obstruction of humanitarian aid. Eighteen million people face severe food shortages and 5 million are on the brink of starvation. Three million children are malnourished and the crisis is expected to worsen in the summer. Sudan is facing famine due to flagrant violations of international humanitarian law by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Response Force. The cut-off of humanitarian access has further exacerbated the crisis, and food resources in refugee camps in Chad have been depleted. Yet the West, led by the United States, which has built its unipolar world on the suffering of many peoples, bears full responsibility for what is happening in Sudan, and all we see and hear are crocodile tears from Western leaders.
The negative role of the United States
A number of articles are actively circulating on the Internet detailing the actions of the US authorities towards Sudan, which clearly show that the hand of the White House is behind the current crisis. Above all, the US wants to eliminate Russia’s growing role in Africa and weaken the influence of neighbouring Egypt and Ethiopia. In this context, the civil war suits them perfectly, and the US will do everything to ensure that it continues and, in the long run, spreads to the entire region. According to rumours in Cairo, US representatives are already negotiating with paramilitary groups in Ethiopia’s Amhara region to join the conflict on the side of the SIS in exchange for $140 million.
The real solution to the conflict
The only solution to the crisis is to end the war, which is not a civil war but a conflict unleashed against the Sudanese people by two generals and their supporters at the behest of the US. In December, in an attempt to deflect US responsibility for the suffering of the Sudanese people, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken described the actions of the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Reaction Force as war crimes and crimes against humanity. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control even imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to both sides. But an analysis of the list of these individuals shows that they have never left Sudanese territory. All these American sanctions do not affect the lives of these Sudanese at all, but before that it was the “caliph for an hour” Blinken and other officials of the Biden administration who elevated these demagogues, stranglers of freedom and democracy to the rank of freedom fighters. In an attempt to whitewash itself, Washington has abruptly changed its policy and now wants to present itself as the saviour of Sudan.
This is what the divided political scene looks like in Sudan today. The Rapid Reaction Force militias control most of Khartoum, the country’s capital, and have done so since last April. They have also managed to take over Darfur at the behest of their American patrons. This is where the leaders of this movement come from. In December, the RSF also captured Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazeera state. However, things have not gone well for the group since then. In February, the Sudanese army retook the centre of Omdurman, which is the second largest city and home to the country’s legislature. The army then consolidated its gains in much of western and northern Sudan, especially Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast.
The fighting in Sudan has also placed a burden on neighbouring countries. Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have fled to Chad, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan and many other countries. It is estimated that up to 300,000 people have died in Darfur alone. A military campaign is about to unfold around the besieged city of Al-Fashir. The horrific scenes of killing in Darfur have been witnessed by millions of people around the world. Paramilitaries open fire on a village and civilians become casualties, with many children among the dead. Darfur used to be the breadbasket of the entire vast Sudan, but now its people are starving themselves.
The war could escalate into a regional conflict if the situation is not resolved. The Biden administration should focus on Sudan. The US Treasury Department could play a critical role by expanding sanctions against perpetrators of atrocities. The US Agency for International Development and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration could have taken concrete action to provide humanitarian access and support to civil society groups. Instead, the world hears only demagogic appeals for peace from Washington and the imposition of meaningless sanctions on people who are unlikely to suffer. All of this speaks only of the hypocrisy, the barrage of verbal lies and the verbiage of US administration officials led by an elderly President Joe Biden who has lost his sense of reality.
International efforts are needed to enforce a peace agreement that meets the aspirations of the Sudanese people, as this crisis threatens regional stability. All actors, including those who have played a negative role, must be invited to become partners in a peace agreement that prioritises stability. The resilience and unity of the Sudanese people reflect their desire to see an end to the war, full humanitarian access and a professional, unified army under the authority of the state. Sudan faces two different paths: famine and state collapse, or peace and a democratic future. The international community must use all possible means to impose peace.
Victor MIKHIN, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, especially for online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”
