AFRICA/SUDAN – The war continues: US appears prepared to impose sanctions on Rapid Support Forces

Khartoum – The Sudanese army announced it had repelled a drone attack on the Merowe Dam and the town of the same name, including its airport. The 19th Infantry Division of the SAF explained in a statement that a swarm of drones launched by the Rapid Support Forces was intercepted in the early hours of November 13. The drones were intended to attack an army headquarters, Merowe airport, and the Merowe Dam.
Merowe, one of the most strategically important areas in northern Sudan, is home to an airport used for both military and civilian purposes, as well as the Merowe Dam, one of the largest in the country. The dam’s hydroelectric power plant was hit multiple times, causing power outages in several towns.
The army also announced it had repelled an attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Babanusa military base in West Kordofan State. The RSF had withdrawn from Babanusa in recent months but maintained its siege of the city, which had been in place since January 2024.
Following the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur , the conflict shifted to Kordofan and other areas of Sudan, involving foreign actors who supported either the SAF or the RSF .
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor, spoke to journalists after a G7 meeting in Canada about the RSF’s foreign donors.
“I think something needs to be done to stop the flow of weapons and support that the RSF receives as it continues its advance,” Rubio said, adding that the support was “clearly” coming from outside Sudan. Rubio distinguished between the countries that pay for the weapons and those that “allow their territory to be used for shipping and transporting the weapons.” This was a clear reference, without naming them, to the United Arab Emirates, which finances the RSF, as well as to Puntland and Libya, which facilitate the transit of weapons, mercenaries, and supplies for Sudanese militias. Rubio also stated that the RSF was responsible for war crimes, including massacres and mass rapes, and suggested that Washington might list them as a terrorist organization.
The Archbishop of Juba, Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, addressed the war in Sudan and South Sudan in his opening address to the plenary assembly of the Sudan’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference , which includes the bishops of Sudan and South Sudan, on November 10 in Malakal, South Sudan. “The people of Sudan and South Sudan are suffering indescribable torment, displacement, loss of life, destruction of churches and property, and a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale,” declared the Cardinal, who commended the Catholic community and the people for their response to this tragedy. “Amidst these trials, the dioceses have demonstrated resilience, providing shelter, food, and pastoral care through charities and other organizations,” he emphasized.

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