U.S. Senator Marco Rubio urged an international crackdown on arms and funding to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces after reports of mass killings, sexual violence and severe malnutrition in Darfur. He described the abuses as systematic, accused the RSF of breaching a recent cease-fire and alleged third-party channels are supplying the group, possibly linked to Quad partners. U.N. experts have implicated the UAE (denied by the UAE) and the U.S. sanctioned companies allegedly involved. Rubio called on partner nations to join diplomatic efforts to halt the violence and address the humanitarian crisis.
Rubio Calls for Global Action to Cut Arms and Funding to Sudan’s RSF After Alleged Darfur Atrocities
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio urged an international crackdown on arms and funding to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces after reports of mass killings, sexual violence and severe malnutrition in Darfur. He described the abuses as systematic, accused the RSF of breaching a recent cease-fire and alleged third-party channels are supplying the group, possibly linked to Quad partners. U.N. experts have implicated the UAE (denied by the UAE) and the U.S. sanctioned companies allegedly involved. Rubio called on partner nations to join diplomatic efforts to halt the violence and address the humanitarian crisis.
08:23 PM, 11/13/2025Conflict
Rubio urges international effort to halt arms, funding to Sudan’s RSF after reported Darfur atrocities
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio urged the international community to block weapons and financial flows to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after reports emerged of mass killings, sexual violence and extreme malnutrition following the group's capture of El Fasher in Darfur. Speaking at Hamilton Airport in Ontario after a G7 meeting, Rubio described the reported abuses as systematic and said partner nations must join efforts to stop them.
"They're committing acts of sexual violence and atrocities... against women, children, innocent civilians of the most horrific kind. And it needs to end immediately. ... We've encouraged partner nations to join us in this fight," Rubio said.
Rubio told reporters that humanitarian organizations had documented unprecedented levels of malnutrition and suffering among people who managed to flee, and that fewer refugees than expected have arrived because many are presumed dead or are too sick and malnourished to move.
He rejected the RSF's denials that it permits violence against civilians and accused the paramilitary group — which has been locked in an approximately two-year struggle with the Sudan Armed Forces — of repeatedly failing to honor commitments, including a recent humanitarian cease-fire.
Rubio said the RSF continues to receive money and weapons through third-party channels. Although he declined to name the suppliers, he suggested actors linked to a diplomatic grouping known as the "Quad" (the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia) could be involved. U.N. experts have reported that the UAE has covertly supplied arms to the RSF; the UAE denies those allegations. In January, the U.S. imposed sanctions on seven UAE companies accused of funneling funds to RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
Since the RSF seized El Fasher — the Sudan Armed Forces' last western stronghold — in late October after an approximately 500-day siege, multiple accounts have described mass killings, bombing of civilian areas, sexual violence and attacks on hospitals and medical facilities. On Tuesday, the U.N. said women fleeing the city reported rape, starvation and deadly bombardments, and accused the RSF of using rape as a "weapon of war."