The United States is working with its partners to end Sudan’s devastating civil war, the White House said Tuesday, following reports of mass killings during the fall of Al-Fashir, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF’s capture of the city last week marked a turning point in Sudan’s conflict, effectively granting the group control over more than a quarter of the country’s territory. The war, which erupted on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
“The United States is actively engaged in efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to the terrible conflict in Sudan,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “We remain committed to working with our international partners — including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — to lead a negotiated peace process that addresses both the immediate humanitarian crisis and the longer-term political challenges.”
The United Nations has warned of potential atrocities in Al-Fashir. The U.N. human rights office said hundreds of civilians and unarmed fighters may have been killed during the city’s fall, with witnesses describing RSF fighters separating men from women and children before gunfire erupted.
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court said Monday they were gathering evidence of alleged mass killings and sexual violence in the city.
Leavitt said the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump was “deeply engaged” in cease-fire talks, adding that Washington had proposed a deal aimed at ending the fighting. “We want to see this conflict come to a peaceful end, just as we have with so many others, but the reality is it’s a very complicated situation on the ground right now,” she said.
To date, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in western Sudan, while the army maintains control over most of the remaining 13 states — including Khartoum — in the country’s south, north, east and center. The war has also spread to new areas in recent weeks, raising fears of an even deeper humanitarian disaster.
