U.S. declares Sudan's paramilitary and proxy forces are committing genocide

Source: UPI

JAN. 8, 2025 / 1:50 AM

By Darryl Coote

Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The United States has accused Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and proxy militias of committing genocide in the Northeast African nation's nearly 2-year-old civil war.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the genocide determination Tuesday. The United States has repeatedly declared that war crimes have been committed by both warring parties in Sudan's civil war, but Blinken alleged that the RSF's systematic murder and sexual violence targeting individuals based on their ethnicity now meets the high threshold of genocide.

"The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys -- even infants -- on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence. Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing life-saving supplies," Blinken said in a statement.

The genocide determination is largely symbolic, but the U.S. Treasury accompanied Blinken's announcement with sanctions targeting Gen. Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, leader of the RSF, as well as the paramilitary weapons supplier Abu Dharr Abdul Nabi Habiballa Ahmmed and seven related companies.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/01/08/6261736314672/