WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement recognizing the imperiled state of the people in El Fasher and calling on the diplomatic community to take immediate action to stop mass atrocities from continuing.

"The people of El Fasher, already devastated by bombings and shelling from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), now face an imminent threat from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is massing troops for another brutal assault as part of their ongoing campaign of destruction across Sudan. Those living in famine-stricken Zam Zam camp are now also at dire risk of mass atrocities should the RSF launch this offensive.

"I urge the entire diplomatic community - bilateral, regional, and multilateral partners - to unequivocally demand that the RSF, the SAF, and their allied forces immediately stand down. The international community must be ready to deploy every diplomatic tool to prevent this attack - including the renewal of the current UN arms embargo on Darfur and its expansion to cover the entire country - and to pressure all parties to end their horrendous assaults on the Sudanese people and provide cross-border and cross-line access for humanitarian assistance. Those responsible for these abuses, along with their enablers, must face justice. I stand with the people of Sudan in their continued pursuit of peace."

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