{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-van-hollen-colleagues-urge-trump-administration-to-prevent-further-atrocities-in-sudan-kaine-van-hollen-colleagues-urge-trump-administration-to-prevent-further-atrocities-in-sudan", "Kaine, Van Hollen, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Prevent Further Atrocities in Sudan", "2026-08-04", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Tim Kaine", "K000384", "www.kaine.senate.gov", "kaine", "https://www.kaine.senate.gov/news", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined a group of his colleagues led by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in pressing the State Department to use its leverage to prevent further atrocities in Sudan and help bring the war to an end. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, the senators stressed the immediate need for the State Department to act in light of the impending siege of the city of El Obeid and following the atrocities that occurred in El Fasher last year.\n\n\u201cWe write with alarm regarding the Rapid Support Forces\u2019 (RSF) impending siege of the city of El Obeid in Sudan, which threatens a repeat of the mass atrocities and bloodshed that occurred in El Fasher this past October. While we welcome the State Department\u2019s expression of concern about the escalating situation in El Obeid, words are not enough. The United States must use the leverage and influence at our disposal to prevent further atrocities in El Obeid and help bring this brutal war in Sudan to an end. These actions should include ceasing certain U.S. arms sales to external actors that are fueling this war, including the United Arab Emirates, which continues to arm the RSF,\u201d wrote the senators.\n\n\u201cWe have already witnessed what happens when the international community fails to heed warnings of RSF atrocities. The RSF\u2019s siege and devastation of El Fasher bore the \u2018hallmarks of genocide\u2019 according to United Nations investigators. [\u2026] The siege of El Fasher lasted for over 500 days, and the ensuing atrocities were widely foreseen and repeatedly forewarned by the United Nations, intelligence from the U.S. State Department and foreign governments, humanitarian monitors, and researchers. We remain greatly concerned by this administration\u2019s grave failure to act despite the chorus of alarm bells. What occurred in El Fasher is a stark warning of what could unfold in El Obeid and across Sudan if this administration\u2014and the international community\u2014continues this current pattern of inaction,\u201d the senators continued.\n\n\u201cThe State Department has also recognized that this is a critical moment. On June 22, the State Department spokesperson warned of \u2018alarming indications that mass atrocities could be imminent\u2019 and said \u2018the RSF and their allied forces must cease any actions that could endanger civilians, impede humanitarian assistance, or contribute to further atrocities and suffering,\u2019\u201d the senators emphasized.\n\n\u201cNow, an estimated 500,000 civilians are at risk in El Obeid, including many who have sought shelter there after fleeing RSF attacks across the Kordofan region. The encirclement and systematic crippling of resources in El Obeid increasingly parallels El Fasher, and this administration must use its leverage and influence to prevent a repeat of El Fasher\u2019s horrors in El Obeid before it is too late. We urge this administration to take concrete actions to prevent such mass atrocities in El Obeid, including by ceasing certain U.S. arms sales to the UAE and other external actors that are fueling this war. We also request an update on what other actions the administration is taking, beyond just words, to prevent mass atrocities in El Obeid and to help bring this war to an end,\u201d they concluded.\n\nIn addition to Kaine and Van Hollen, the letter was signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).\n\nFull text of the letter is available here and below:\n\nSecretary Rubio,\n\nWe write with alarm regarding the Rapid Support Forces\u2019 (RSF) impending siege of the city of El Obeid in Sudan, which threatens a repeat of the mass atrocities and bloodshed that occurred in El Fasher this past October. While we welcome the State Department\u2019s expression of concern about the escalating situation in El Obeid, words are not enough. The United States must use the leverage and influence at our disposal to prevent further atrocities in El Obeid and help bring this brutal war in Sudan to an end. These actions should include ceasing certain U.S. arms sales to external actors that are fueling this war, including the United Arab Emirates, which continues to arm the RSF.\n\nWe have already witnessed what happens when the international community fails to heed warnings of RSF atrocities. The RSF\u2019s siege and devastation of El Fasher bore the \u201challmarks of genocide\u201d according to United Nations investigators. A United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission found that \u201cthe Rapid Support Forces steadily squeezed the life out of El-Fasher and surrounding displacement camps, cutting off food, water, medical supplies, and humanitarian assistance, while subjecting the city to recurring shelling and ground assaults. Civilians were increasingly trapped, as escape routes were restricted or closed, and forced to endure conditions of life progressively incompatible with human survival.\u201d This 18-month siege culminated in a 3-day rampage in October 2025, where survivors describe the slaughter of civilians, mass executions, and crimes against humanity.\n\nEl-Fasher University \u201cbecame one of the bloodiest execution sites in the city.\u201d According to survivors, over a hundred civilians were gunned down or executed as they sought shelter or attempted to flee. Survivors described notorious RSF commander Abu Lulu, known as the \u201cButcher of El-Fasher\", asking a pregnant woman how far she was in her pregnancy and then firing seven bullets into her abdomen when she replied that she was seven months along. He at one point said, \u201cI was planning to kill 2000 people today, but I lost count, so I will start all over again.\u201d In the case of El-Saudi Hospital, RSF forces stormed the hospital and \u201cproceeded to search the wards and killing those they found, including patients, accompanying persons and medical personnel...it is estimated that over 460 patients and others present were killed.\u201d Flight didn\u2019t bring safety, according to survivors, as \u201cThe Rapid Support Forces pursued fleeing civilians along escape routes...where they had established ambushes and checkpoints...the perpetrators chasing people in open fields, firing at them with automatic rifles and mounted submachine guns, and running over fleeing persons with vehicles, causing mass casualties.\u201d The horrors were visible from space, with satellite images analyzed by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab showing bodies piled up in the streets, pools of blood on the ground, and mass burial sites.\n\nThe siege of El Fasher lasted for over 500 days, and the ensuing atrocities were widely foreseen and repeatedly forewarned by the United Nations, intelligence from the U.S. State Department and foreign governments, humanitarian monitors, and researchers. We remain greatly concerned by this administration\u2019s grave failure to act despite the chorus of alarm bells. What occurred in El Fasher is a stark warning of what could unfold in El Obeid and across Sudan if this administration\u2014and the international community\u2014continues this current pattern of inaction.\n\nAnd now those alarm bells are ringing once again \u2013 this time in El Obeid. Volker T\u00fcrk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on July 3, \"This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of heads of state and government around the world. Their phones should be running hot in the coming days and weeks, with ideas on how to prevent atrocity crimes in El Obeid and in other places in Kordofan.\u201d Tom Fletcher, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said of El Obeid on June 30, \u201cToo often in this brutal war, clear warnings have been ignored. Civilians have paid the price. The international community must make itself heard. We cannot say we were not warned.\u201d\n\nThe State Department has also recognized that this is a critical moment. On June 22, the State Department spokesperson warned of \u201calarming indications that mass atrocities could be imminent\u201d and said \u201cthe RSF and their allied forces must cease any actions that could endanger civilians, impede humanitarian assistance, or contribute to further atrocities and suffering.\u201d On June 23, State Department Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos said that he spoke with RSF leadership and \u201cstrongly urged them to halt any actions that could endanger civilians in and around El Obeid.\u201d And this Administration has repeatedly affirmed, including in July 2025, that \u201cThe Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias have committed genocide.\u201d In November 2025, you yourself said that the RSF is \u201cclearly receiving assistance from outside\u201d and that \u201csomething needs to be done to cut off the weapons and the support the RSF is getting as they continue their advances.\u201d\n\nThe evidence is clear \u2013 the United Arab Emirates is the primary external backer of the RSF, providing unparalleled military, financial, and technical support to the group. In May 2026, a new report by Human Rights Watch found that the UAE trained hundreds of Colombian mercenaries who then \u201ctook part in combat in and around El Fasher and, according to media reports, provided training to RSF recruits\u2013including child soldiers\u201d. In February 2026, a Reuters investigation found that Ethiopia has built a secret camp to train thousands of RSF fighters, and that the UAE financed the construction of the camp and provided military trainers and logistical support. This follows U.S. intelligence from October 2025, including separate reports from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department\u2019s intelligence bureau, that \u201cshow an increase in the flow of materiel from the U.A.E. to the rebel Rapid Support Forces since the spring.\u201d These findings are part of a large and growing body of credible evidence that the UAE is both arming and providing military support to the RSF.\n\nNow, an estimated 500,000 civilians are at risk in El Obeid, including many who have sought shelter there after fleeing RSF attacks across the Kordofan region. The encirclement and systematic crippling of resources in El Obeid increasingly parallels El Fasher, and this administration must use its leverage and influence to prevent a repeat of El Fasher\u2019s horrors in El Obeid before it is too late. We urge this administration to take concrete actions to prevent such mass atrocities in El Obeid, including by ceasing certain U.S. arms sales to the UAE and other external actors that are fueling this war. We also request an update on what other actions the administration is taking, beyond just words, to prevent mass atrocities in El Obeid and to help bring this war to an end.\n\nWe request a response to this letter by August 17, 2026.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-08-05T07:37:37Z", "2026-08-05T07:38:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-van-hollen-colleagues-urge-trump-administration-to-prevent-further-atrocities-in-sudan-kaine-van-hollen-colleagues-urge-trump-administration-to-prevent-further-atrocities-in-sudan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5401339624077082, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}