Russia, joined by China, blocked a bid at the UN Security Council on June 4 to condemn the killing of civilians in Sudan and to issue a pressing call for an immediate halt to the violence, diplomats told AFP [13]. Russian deputy ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the proposed statement was "unbalanced" and stressed the need to be "very cautious in this situation." According to the latest update by the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, over 100 people were killed by militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF [14]) who stormed the sit-in site in Khartoum the previous day and opened fire on the protesters. (Sudan Tribune [15])
Late last month, as repression mounted, several US Congress members wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo [16] protesting the $3 billion in support to Sudan by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Both these are US allies that have received aid from Washington for the war in Yemen. Pompeo, who has remained silent on the Khartoum massacre, ironically just criticized China for its human rights record on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square [17] massacre. (Sudan Tribune [15], Politico [18])
