UN Security Council extends arms embargo in Sudan's Darfur as US pushes for nationwide ban

On Thursday, the UN Security Council unanimously extended an arms embargo on Sudan's Darfur region until December 11, giving negotiators a chance to resolve disagreements over a US proposal to broaden the restrictions to the entire country. The extension underscored the ongoing disputes regarding how to prevent weapons from reaching those engaged in Sudan's civil war, which has persisted for four years.

Washington has advocated for a comprehensive embargo, whereas China, Russia, and other council members sought to maintain the sanctions focused on Darfur alone.

Despite the embargo's ineffectiveness in halting weapons from reaching Darfur, it facilitated UN experts' ability to monitor arms shipments and identify those responsible for violations, thus facilitating potential further sanctions. US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, had proposed expanding the embargo in August.

Collaborating with Mike Waltz, Washington's ambassador to the UN, they aimed to intensify pressure on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. In a Foreign Policy opinion piece in September, Boulos and Waltz detailed how the US had introduced a resolution to the Security Council that would extend the arms embargo nationwide, targeting all networks fueling the conflict on both sides, without exemptions.

The two outlined that such restrictions would focus on arms traffickers, financiers, mercenary recruiters, and drone suppliers.

However, the proposal encountered opposition from China and Russia, who wield veto power, along with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Somalia, and Pakistan. Tensions between Washington and Khartoum escalated following reports that the US had withheld a visa for Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, before his scheduled address at the UN General Assembly last month.

Reuters suggested the decision may have been linked to his resistance to a US-backed ceasefire plan. Sudan claimed it had not rejected the US ceasefire proposal but rather submitted comments on it. US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott later noted that neither the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) nor the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) represented a legitimate constitutional government for Sudan.