US says Sudan’s RSF committed genocide, announces sanctions on leaders sudan war news
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says America is committed to ‘holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities’.
The United States has determined that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan, and has announced sanctions targeting the group’s leader.
In a statement on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the RSF has carried out direct attacks on civilians and systematically killed men and boys because of their ethnicity.
They also accused the group of using rape and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls because of their ethnicity.
“The United States is committed to holding those responsible for these atrocities accountable,” Blinken said.
The brutal war between Sudan’s army and the rebel RSF has left thousands dead and more than 11 million internally displaced over the past 18 months.
Thousands have also died from conflict-related causes such as disease and starvation, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“The RSF and RSF-aligned militias continue to conduct direct attacks against civilians,” Blinken said.
“The same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdered innocents fleeing the conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing life-saving supplies.”
The US Treasury Department also announced sanctions against RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The sanctions prevent him from traveling to the US and freeze any of his US-based assets.
International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) are struggling to reach areas of Sudan where civilians are struggling to survive amid shortages of food and other vital goods.
“Malnourished children and mothers are dying due to lack of care, and cholera is spreading in many parts of the country,” WHO regional director Hanan Balki said at a media briefing in October.
The UN has also said that countries providing arms to the RSF and the Sudanese army, which is said to have committed atrocities, are “promoting genocide” and that arms supplies should be cut.
The Sudanese government has said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is arming the RSF, a charge the Gulf country denies.
The US Treasury Department said in a release on Tuesday that sanctions were also being applied to seven RSF-owned companies based in the United Arab Emirates.
In recent months, the US has been accused of perpetrating serious human rights abuses, including genocide, in the Gaza Strip.
There, its ally Israel has launched a military campaign backed by US military aid that has killed 45,885 Palestinians. America has denied that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
