The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group and allied militias are committing genocide in Sudan's civil war, the US State Department declared Tuesday. Secretary of State Antony Blinknd called the war a "conflict of unmitigated brutality that has resulted in the world's largest humanitarian catastrophe," CBS News reports. "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," Blinken said.
"Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies," Blinken said. The Treasury Department announced sanctions against RSF chief Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and seven RSF-owned companies in the United Arab Emirates, the AP reports. The conflict between the RSF and Sudan's military erupted in April 2023, causing a massive refugee crisis. The death toll is unknown, but US officials estimated last year that at least 150,000 people had been killed, the Washington Post reports.
Blinken said the conflict has left "638,000 Sudanese experiencing the worst famine in Sudan's recent history" and "over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance." The State Department says Sudan's military has also committed war crimes. Before Tuesday's genocide declaration, it had treated both sides as equally responsible for the conflict, the Post reports. "Today's action is part of our continued efforts to promote accountability for all warring parties whose actions fuel this conflict," Blinken said, per CBS News. "The United States does not support either side of this war." (More Sudan stories.)
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