Washington, DC — The international community is facing mounting pressure to intervene in the escalating conflict in Sudan, where visual evidence of torture and mass killings of civilians has sparked urgent calls for a ceasefire. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in a brutal fight, with the RSF tightening its encirclement of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

The humanitarian situation is dire, with nearly a hundred organizations signing an open letter demanding safe passage for civilians under siege. The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University has been tracking the atrocities in real-time, with epidemiologist Nathaniel Raymond warning that the situation is catastrophic. “Every day, my team and I watch El Fasher’s destruction from space. No one can say they didn’t know,” he said.

The international response to the conflict has been criticized as a “study in diplomatic failure,” with competing initiatives undermining each other. Talks in Washington last week between representatives from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States failed to agree on a proposed three-month humanitarian pause in fighting. The UAE has been accused of providing large-scale support to the RSF, despite denials from top Emirate officials.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the UAE has shipped increasing supplies of weapons to Sudan, including advanced Chinese-made drones, small arms, and heavy machine guns. The RSF is also reported to have received military hardware from the UK, France, and Canada. The UAE’s support has been blamed for prolonging the conflict, with Cameron Hudson from the Center for Strategic and International Studies saying, “The war would be over if not for the UAE.”

The conflict has resulted in numerous massacres, including the killing of over 460 patients and companions at a hospital in El Fasher. The World Health Organization has condemned the attacks on healthcare facilities, calling for an immediate stop to the violence. Influential lawmakers in the United States have taken notice, with Senator James Risch calling for the RSF to be designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Diplomatic pressure is mounting, with Representative Greg Meeks proposing legislation to cut off US weapons sales to external actors funding the conflict in Sudan. However, critics argue that the international community’s response has been too little, too late, with Arab and African countries doing more to aggravate the suffering than to ease it. The US has been accused of operating from a position of reduced leverage, with its influence diminished in regional diplomacy.