But Mr. Biden can take action that would help stop the slaughter. One is to call the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. In an effort to become kingmaker in the region, the United Arab Emirates has been covertly shipping arms to the R.S.F., as documented by The New York Times. Those weapons, which may include the drones the R.S.F. has used to devastating effect alongside its converted pickup trucks and S.U.V.s and Russian-supplied antiaircraft missiles, appear to have swung the tide of the battle, allowing the paramilitaries to concentrate their firepower and overwhelm the army.
Up to now, confident that the Biden administration has many other priorities in the Middle East, Sheikh Mohammed has had a free hand to intervene on the other shore of the Red Sea, even if that means supporting a violent militia. It’s unlikely that trying to stop the R.S.F.’s gold trade to Dubai would work. But, as he hosts the COP28 climate talks this month, Sheikh Mohammed surely cares about his reputation and could take a call from Mr. Biden advising him that it’s unwise to be branded as a facilitator of a potential genocide.
Another key American ally, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, should also be on Mr. Biden’s call list. Despite its misgivings over General al-Burhan’s links to Islamists, Cairo backs the Sudan Armed Forces and may step up its involvement if it believes there is a chance the R.S.F. is about to take over Sudan, Egypt’s southern neighbor. Mr. Biden should also appoint a presidential special envoy for Sudan, which Middle Eastern leaders with leverage are more likely to respond to than the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, which they see as too junior.
Mr. Biden must also support Kenya. President William Ruto is eager to play a constructive role in stopping this crisis. Back in June, he led a quartet of East African states in proposing a comprehensive approach to peace. Mr. Ruto condemned both Sudanese generals as “illegitimate,” warned that there were “already signs of genocide” in Darfur, and suggested that African peacekeepers might be needed.
When African states propose a formula for addressing an African crisis, world powers often put aside their differences and back it. By contrast, any U.S. proposal to dispatch blue helmets is sure to invite a veto from China or Russia at the U.N. Security Council. And if Washington focuses only on the cease-fire talks in Jeddah, that will almost certainly be a dead end. Working together with Egypt and the newly appointed U.N. special envoy for Sudan, Mr. Ruto can propose actions that America cannot. He is pushing for an emergency summit of East African leaders next week, where he will have the chance to submit bold proposals.
Without action at the highest level, America risks becoming a near-silent witness to another genocide. Mr. Biden can change that. But he has only a few days left to make the call.
Alex de Waal is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University and a former adviser to the African Union High Level Panel on Darfur. Abdul Mohammed is a former official of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur.
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