The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
Deputy head of Sudan's sovereign council General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo speaks during a press conference at Rapid Support Forces head quarter in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding that they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.
"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.
Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him from traveling to the United States and freezing any U.S. assets he might hold.
"For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has engaged in a brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation," the Treasury Department said in a separate statement.
Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months, creating a humanitarian crisis in which U.N. agencies have struggled to deliver relief.
The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis
The leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said on Sunday that his war against the army was not over and his forces would return to Khartoum despite being largely driven out of the capital.
The World Court said on Friday it would hear a case brought by Sudan demanding emergency measures against the United Arab Emirates and accusing the Gulf state of violating obligations under the Genocide Convention by arming paramilitary forces.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a peace agreement in South Sudan was in a shambles, telling the country's leaders to put down the weapons and put all the people of South Sudan first.
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