The British government opted against a more robust civilian protection strategy for Sudan despite internal warnings that the city of El Fasher risked falling to the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and facing mass atrocities, a report reviewed by The Guardian revealed.
Officials inside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) considered four potential responses to prevent large-scale violence during the 18-month siege of El Fasher. One of the proposals involved creating an international protection mechanism to shield civilians from ethnic cleansing, mass killings, and conflict-related sexual violence.
However, citing funding and staffing limitations, officials chose what was described as the “least ambitious” option, which involves redirecting £10 million in additional humanitarian support to organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. The city later fell to the RSF, which has since been accused of ethnically motivated executions, rapes, and forced disappearances, as thousands of residents remain unaccounted for.
Shayna Lewis, a Sudan analyst with the US-based organization Paema, told The Guardian that the UK’s choice reflected a lack of political will rather than a lack of awareness.
“Atrocities are not natural disasters – they are a political choice that are preventable if there is political will,” she said, calling the UK “complicit in the ongoing genocide of the people of Darfur.”
The Sudanese conflict has fueled what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with sexual violence particularly widespread in areas seized by the RSF.
MNA
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