The United States is urging an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan as violent clashes escalate across Kordofan. US Senator Marco Rubio warned that external weapons supplies are sustaining the conflict and called on regional backers to use their leverage to push for a truce. Recent shelling in Dilling and continued threats to El-Obeid have left hundreds of thousands at risk, while attacks on healthcare and peacekeepers have driven a worsening humanitarian emergency.
US Urges Immediate Humanitarian Ceasefire As Violence Surges In Sudan's Kordofan
Sudanese girls who fled el-Fasher receive humanitarian aid at the Al-Afad camp for displaced people in the town of Al-Dabba, northern Sudan [File: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP]
The United States is pressing for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan as intense fighting spreads across the strategically important Kordofan region. US Senator Marco Rubio described the violence as 'horrifying' and urged outside actors to use their influence to halt the bloodshed so urgently needed aid can reach millions trapped by the conflict.
Diplomatic Push And External Influence
Washington has stepped up diplomatic efforts after a late-November meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. US special envoy Massad Boulos recently returned from talks with officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and Rubio said he has coordinated discussions with regional leaders alongside the United Kingdom.
Rubio warned that external weapons supplies are a critical factor sustaining the war between the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now entering its third brutal year. 'All these weapons are acquired from abroad. They have to come from somewhere else and they have to come through somewhere else,' he said, arguing that external actors therefore hold leverage to push both sides to negotiate.
Fighting Shifts To Kordofan
Conflict monitors report that violence has shifted from Darfur into Kordofan. The RSF and allied fighters shelled residential areas of Dilling over recent days, killing at least 16 people, including women, elderly residents and children, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. Overall, violence in Kordofan has killed at least 100 civilians since early December and displaced more than 50,000 people.
El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and a vital transport hub linking routes to South Sudan, eastern Sudan and Darfur, is viewed as a likely next target. Mohamed Refaat, the International Organization for Migration's chief of mission in Sudan, warned that more than half a million people could be affected if fighting reaches the city.
Attacks On Peacekeepers And Health Services
On December 13, six Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed when drones struck their base in Kadugli. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack as 'heinous and deliberate' and warned it may constitute war crimes.
The World Health Organization reported that attacks on medical facilities in Sudan have accounted for more than 80% of all deaths from such strikes worldwide this year. Since the conflict began in April 2023, the WHO has verified 201 attacks on healthcare premises, resulting in 1,858 deaths.
In Nyala, the self-declared capital of the RSF's parallel administration, the Sudan Doctors Network said 64 medical workers remain detained after nine were released from an original group of 73.
Allegations, Accountability And The Humanitarian Toll
Conflict monitors allege the UAE provides material support to the RSF through regional networks, claims Abu Dhabi denies. The SAF maintains close ties with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, while the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are reportedly involved in mediation efforts. Both the RSF and SAF have been accused of war crimes; the RSF faces additional allegations of genocide in parts of Darfur, notably El-Fasher.
'What’s happening there is horrifying, it’s atrocious,' Rubio said. 'One day the story of what’s actually happened there is going to be known, and everyone involved is going to look bad.'
Sudan's war has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced about 14 million, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest humanitarian crisis. US officials say their role is to convene parties and press external backers to help produce a ceasefire that would allow life-saving aid to reach civilians.
