WASHINGTON, (TDI): The United States has determined that members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday.
“We are today sanctioning RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, for his role in systematic atrocities committed against the Sudanese people,” Blinken said in a statement.
He accused the RSF and affiliated militias of orchestrating deliberate attacks on civilians, systematically murdering men and boys based on ethnicity, and targeting women and girls from specific ethnic groups with rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence.
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The militias have also attacked civilians attempting to flee, killing many, and have blocked access to life-saving resources for those who remain, he added.
Separately, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Hemedti, along with seven companies and one individual associated with the RSF.
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“For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has waged a brutal armed conflict against the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the displacement of 12 million people, and widespread starvation,” the department said.
Sudan has been engulfed in violence between the army and the RSF since April 2023. The conflict has caused over 20,000 deaths and displaced more than 14 million people, according to estimates from the United Nations and local authorities.
