U.S. criticises “illegitimous” leaders in Sudan who “rule only by force”

“ Nin the Sudanese Armed Forces, neither the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), nor their leaders represent a legitimate and constitutional power in Sudan: they govern only by force of arms,” the State Department said in a statement released on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

The United States refused to grant a visa to the de facto leader of Sudan, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to travel to New York, two diplomatic sources informed AFP.

The war in Sudan, which began in 2023, has already killed more than 200,000, according to humanitarian agencies, in what the UN considers the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Over 12 million people were displaced at the height of the conflict within Sudan, while fighting forced nearly five million people to flee the country, according to the UN.

Although the war between the army and the RSF paramilitaries continues to intensify, more than 5.1 million people returned to their homes in Sudan, the UN reported on Monday.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) warns of the risk of new movements if sufficient help is not mobilised quickly.

The IOM data point to some 8.6 million people still displaced in Sudan, a slight decrease (-1%) in the last month. However, Sudan remains among the countries with the largest number of internally displaced persons in the world.