World
UN extends Darfur arms embargo for two months, stalls plan to widen sanctions to all of Sudan
The United Nations Security Council extended the arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region for two months, but it rejected a U.S. proposal to broaden the embargo to cover the entire country. The 15‑member council adopted Resolution 2830 unanimously on Thursday, extending the sanctions regime until December 11 and allowing more time for negotiations. The resolution also extended the mandate of the panel of experts that monitors the measures until January 11, 2027. The UN described the text as a short‑term “technical rollover,” after the regime was last renewed for one month on September 11. The sanctions were first imposed in 2005 under Resolution 1591. They include an arms embargo on armed actors in Darfur, a travel ban and an asset freeze on designated individuals and entities, and a five‑member panel of experts to monitor them.
The United States failed to secure approval to expand the embargo after weeks of discussion. Russia and China opposed the expansion, arguing for keeping the existing regime. U.S. Ambassador Jeff Bartos told the council last month that the current sanctions regime is “over 20 years outdated” and urged the council to “expand the arms embargo across the entire territory of Sudan.” Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva, said the council would not allow any broadening of the restrictions. Sudan’s UN ambassador, Al‑Harith Mohamed, argued that a total embargo would violate the UN Charter’s guarantee of the right to self‑defence.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has killed at least 59,000 people, though aid groups warn the toll could be far higher. It has also displaced about 13 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine. The army holds central and eastern Sudan, while the RSF controls Darfur in the west and parts of the south. Darfur, a region about the size of Spain, has seen some of the worst violence, with displacement camps attacked and repeated ethnic massacres killing thousands at a time.