The United States has officially determined that members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias have committed genocide during the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
This announcement, made on January 7, 2025, by U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in a statement, underscoring the severity of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the country.
“On April 15, 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF launched a conflict of unmitigated brutality, resulting in the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe. Over 638,000 Sudanese are experiencing famine, 30 million are in need of aid, and tens of thousands have been killed,” Blinken noted.
He also disclosed that the RSF and allied militias have carried out ethnic cleansing and systematically targeted civilians based on ethnicity. In response the U.S then imposed targeted sanctions on RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, for his role in the atrocities, including mass rapes and murders in Darfur.
Seven RSF-owned companies in the UAE and an individual involved in procuring weapons for the RSF have also been sanctioned. Hemedti has been designated under Section 7031(c), making him and his immediate family members ineligible for entry to the United States.
“Hemedti has wantonly ignored commitments under international humanitarian law, including the 2023 Jeddah Declaration and the 2024 Code of Conduct, which required unimpeded humanitarian relief and protection of civilians,” Blinken stated.
The U.S. emphasised that these actions are not in support of either side of the conflict, holding both the SAF and RSF responsible for the violence. Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to Sudanese aspirations for peace and democracy, noting a $30 million pledge made in December 2024 to support civil society actors in the country.
“The United States remains committed to imposing costs on those perpetuating this conflict while supporting Sudan’s path toward a peaceful and inclusive democratic future,” Blinken concluded.
The US had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.
The RSF, however, denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.
Fighting broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF in April 2023 after months of tension between the two top generals who had been running the country. The former allies in charge of the SAF and the RSF had been negotiating to fully integrate the RSF into the army before the formation of a new transitional government. Those negotiations broke down, and the two sides went to war.
