The United Nations Security Council has extended the arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region for an additional two months, while failing to approve a United States proposal to expand the restrictions to cover the entire country due to opposition from Russia and China.

The 15-member council unanimously adopted Resolution 2830, pushing the current sanctions regime through December 11 to allow additional time for negotiations. The measure also extends the monitoring mandate of the panel of experts until January 11, 2027. United Nations officials characterized the text as a brief technical rollover, following a previous one-month renewal on September 11.

Originally established in 2005 under Resolution 1591, the sanctions regime imposed an arms embargo on armed actors within Darfur, alongside travel bans and asset freezes targeting specific individuals and entities. It also created a five-member panel of experts to oversee enforcement.

Despite weeks of diplomatic discussions, Washington was unable to secure the necessary backing to widen the embargo. Russia and China advocated instead for maintaining the status quo of the existing measures.

US Ambassador Jeff Bartos previously argued before the council that the current sanctions architecture is more than 20 years old and wholly inadequate for addressing the realities of the ongoing conflict, urging the body to apply the arms embargo across all of Sudan.

Conversely, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva, stated that Moscow would not permit any expansion of council restrictions on Sudan. Meanwhile, Sudan’s UN ambassador, Al-Harith Mohamed, contended that a nationwide embargo would violate the UN Charter's provisions regarding the right to self-defense.

The broader conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023, has resulted in at least 59,000 deaths, though humanitarian organizations warn the actual toll could be significantly higher. The fighting has displaced approximately 13 million individuals and driven parts of the population into famine conditions.

The Sudanese army maintains control over central and eastern regions, whereas the Rapid Support Forces hold sway over Darfur in the west and parts of the south. Darfur has endured some of the most severe violence of the conflict, featuring attacks on displacement camps and recurring ethnic massacres resulting in thousands of deaths per incident.