The US has accused the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) of committing genocide and imposed sanctions on its leader.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, had been punished for his role in “systematic” crimes against the Sudanese people during the 20-month conflict.
He said the RSF and allied militias were responsible for killing “men and boys – even infants” as well as brutal ethnically based sexual violence against women.
Militias also targeted fleeing civilians and killed innocent people fleeing the conflict, Blinken said.
“Based on this information, I have now concluded that members of the RSF and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan,” he said.
In response, RSF accused the US of double standards and failure to effectively address the ongoing crisis.
“The decision… expresses failure [US President Joe] The Biden administration to deal with the Sudan crisis and the double standards it followed [with regards to the crisis]” Hemedti’s advisor, El-Basha Tbaeq, said in a post on his X account.
He added that this could complicate the Sudanese crisis and prevent negotiations to resolve the root causes of the conflict.
The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023, and there is growing resentment over their conduct during the war.
Both sides have been accused of crimes, and the conflict has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
In May, US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello said some estimates put up to 150,000 people dead in the conflict.
Famine has been declared in several parts of the country, and 24.6 million people – about half the population – urgently need food aid, according to experts.
Mr. Blinken said that neither the RSF nor the Sudanese army are capable of governing Sudan.
“Both warring parties are responsible for the violence and suffering in Sudan and have no legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan,” he said.
The sanctions prohibit Hemedti and members of his immediate family from visiting the US, and all personal assets there are blocked.
Seven RSF-owned companies based in the United Arab Emirates and one other individual were also sanctioned for helping the paramilitary group acquire weapons.
