The United Nations has said continued weapons supplies to Sudan’s warring military and paramilitary forces are “enabling the slaughter” and must stop, with civilians bearing the brunt of the conflict.

Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are escalating their military operations and recruiting new fighters fuelled by “considerable” external support and a steady flow of arms, said Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs.

“To put it bluntly, certain purported allies of the parties are enabling the slaughter in Sudan,” she told the UN Security Council (UNSC) late on Tuesday, without naming any of the countries or parties sending weapons.

“This is unconscionable. It is illegal, and it must end.”

Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, as a result of a power struggle between the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo and SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The UN says the war has killed more than 24,000 people and created a humanitarian crisis that has displaced 11 million people. Of them, nearly three million people have fled to neighbouring countries, in the world’s worst displacement crisis.

Both sides, especially the RSF, have been accused of war crimes and massacres, which they deny. The paramilitary group, which faces many allegations of ethnic cleansing in areas including West Darfur, claims rogue parties are behind the attacks.

DiCarlo said it is long past time for the rival warring parties to come to the negotiating table, but added that they appear convinced they can win on the battlefield, something that is driven by outside support.

Sudan’s government has accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the RSF. The Gulf nation has denied the allegations. The RSF has also reportedly received armed backing from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group.

UN experts said in a report earlier this year that the RSF has received support from Arab-allied communities, with military supply lines running through neighbouring Chad, Libya and South Sudan.

Al-Burhan, the army chief who led a military takeover of Sudan in 2021, is a close ally of neighbouring Egypt and its president, former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. Sudan’s Foreign Minister Hussein Awad Ali held talks in Tehran in February, leading to speculation that Iran may be preparing to send drones to government forces. Iran has not reported any arms shipments to Sudan.

This comes as the UNSC is discussing a resolution proposed by the United Kingdom that demands Sudan’s warring parties immediately cease hostilities and calls on them to allow unhindered deliveries of humanitarian aid as more than half of the country’s population of 50 million faces severe food shortages.

As a three-month approval by Sudanese authorities for the UN and aid groups to use the Adre border with Chad to deliver supplies to Darfur is set to expire in mid-November, the draft also calls for the crossing to remain open.