US calls for international action to cut weapons supply to Sudan paramilitaries

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for international action to cut off weapons supplies to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), following reports of mass killings in el-Fasher.

At the end of a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada, Rubio said the RSF had committed systematic atrocities, including murder, rape and sexual violence against civilians.

Sudan's army accuses the United Arab Emirates of supporting the group with weapons and mercenaries sent via African nations. The UAE has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023, when a power struggle between their leaders erupted into a civil war.

El-Fasher was captured last month by the RSF after an 18-month siege, meaning they now control all of the cities in the western Darfur region.

At the talks near Niagara Falls, America's top diplomat said women and children had been targeted in acts of the most horrific kind by the RSF in el-Fasher.

Rubio told reporters: "They're committing acts of sexual violence and atrocities, just horrifying atrocities, against women, children, innocent civilians of the most horrific kind. And it needs to end immediately.

"And we're going to do everything we can to bring it to an end, and we've encouraged partner nations to join us in this fight."