World 'standing by' as genocide unfolds in Darfur, Sudan warns
A stark warning was issued by Sudan's ambassador to the UK after Al Fashir, North Darfur's capital, fell to the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The world is "standing by" while a genocide is unfolding in Darfur, the Sudanese government has claimed.
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More than 20 years after the region's harrowing conflict first made headlines around the world, a stark warning was issued by Sudan's ambassador to the UK after Al Fashir, North Darfur's capital, fell to the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Harrowing reports of atrocities are emerging from the western Sudanese area, where thousands have been killed, women raped and civilians kidnapped for ransom.
It comes more than two years into Sudan's current brutal civil war, where the death toll is thought to be more than 150,000.
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Speaking at a news briefing in London, Ambassador Babikir Elamin called on to the world to act now.
"It certainly seems that the international community is either helpless or just not interested," he said. "We need to stop this mayhem."
He labelled the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the "enabler of genocide" for allegedly helping the RSF.
The Middle Eastern country has reportedly distributed British-supplied weapons to the Sudanese battlefield, which it has access to due to its close ties to the UK.
The ambassador called on Downing Street to "put pressure" on the UAE, by using Britain's status as a "permanent member of the UN Security Council".
He added that the RSF needed to be dealt with "like we dealt with ISIS".
The current scenes Darfur were described as "truly horrifying" by the British government, which could lead to the "worst humanitarian crises in the 21st century".
Responding to the claims of supporting a genocide, a UAE official said it: "Categorically rejects any claims of providing any form of support to either warring party since the onset of the civil war, and condemn atrocities committed by both Port Sudan Authority and RSF".
"The latest UN Panel of Experts report makes clear that there is no substantiated evidence that the UAE has provided any support to RSF, or has any involvement in the conflict.
"Since the onset of the civil war, the UAE has consistently supported regional and international efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire, protect civilians, and ensure accountability for violations committed by all warring parties.
"The UAE is part of the Quad which in September issued a joint statement calling for a three-month humanitarian truce to enable the swift entry of humanitarian aid to all parts of Sudan and to lead immediately to a permanent ceasefire.
"That statement also underlined that there is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan. Only a transition not controlled by the warring parties, leading to an independent civilian-led government, can secure Sudan's future."
Sudan's civil war has received far less attention than other conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
Residents in Al Fashir have been resorted to eating animal feed and leather are the RSF paramilitary rebel force surrounded the city for 18 months.
According to Sky News, the Sudanese forces evacuated the city before it was captured.
Twenty years ago, the Janjaweed militia, the first original iteration of the RSF, committed a genocide killing 300,000 people.
Without intervention from the international community, the crisis is only likely to deepen as the RSF continues to tighten its grip on the region.