Jacobs, Meeks Issue Statement on RSF Siege of El Obeid
Representatives Sara Jacobs, Ranking Member of the Africa Subcommittee, and Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statement calling on the U.S. Department of State to secure an agreement halting the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) siege of Sudan’s El Obeid city:
“For the past six months, the RSF and its allied forces have destroyed hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure throughout El Obeid to collectively punish civilians and maximize death and destruction. These attacks follow the RSF’s similar assault last year on El Fasher that culminated in the deaths of as many as 100,000 men, women, and children.
“As the driver of the Quad peace process, the United States must urgently secure an agreement that halts the RSF siege of El Obeid, provides unhindered humanitarian access to the city, and establishes a humanitarian corridor and safe passage for civilians seeking to leave. Inaction in the face of a looming massacre risks delegitimizing the Quad and its ongoing efforts to broker an end to the Sudanese civil war. The Trump administration must be prepared to use sanctions and other punitive measures to protect civilians in El Obeid and to press the warring parties to cease fire and come to the negotiating table. After more than a year of lofty promises and strongly worded statements, the Quad must finally deliver for the Sudanese people.”