SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Foreign Affairs - Sudan’s Manmade Famine

17/6/2024: Foreign Affairs - Sudan’s Manmade Famine, by Alex de Waal

Alex De Waal calls for the US and western allies to pressure the UAE and Saudi Arabia to lead on getting food aid to starving Sudanese.

De Waal accused Sudan’s warring parties of using starvation as a weapon of war. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “[strip] cities and countryside bare of all moveable resources,” whereas the army is accused of blocking humanitarian aid to areas under RSF control with the aim of turning its fighters against its leader.

De Waal suggests that starvation benefits the RSF, as the starving in Darfur are African ethnic groups that the RSF targets for ethnic cleansing.

De Waal argues that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have leverage over the warring parties but attributes their failure to “seriously engage” to the Saudis not wanting the UAE to participate in their peace talks, and the UAE not wanting Saudis to get credit for a peace deal.