The Biden Administration on Tuesday concluded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan and that the U.S. would therefore sanction RSF’s leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa (“Hemedti), as well as seven RSF-owned companies in the United Arab Emirates and one individual for helping procure weapons for the RSF. In response, Center for International Policy (CIP) Senior Non-Resident Fellow Kehinde Togun issued the following response:
“The Biden Administration’s determination that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed genocide in Sudan is a necessary and important development. While designating the actions of the RSF and its allied militias as genocidal for the first time, the State Department’s announcement also rightly reiterated that the opposing Sudanese Armed Forces have committed war crimes.
“While this action by the administration is commendable, it’s unfortunate it came in the waning days of the Biden administration. It will be imperative for the incoming Trump administration to use the full weight of the U.S. government to enforce the accompanying sanctions, including those against RSF-linked companies in the United Arab Emirates.
“Additionally, the United States must take other meaningful steps to staunch the flow of weapons into the hands of the belligerents, including by putting greater pressure on the UAE to cease its support for the RSF.
“Much more is needed to bring about an end to the genocide. Without continued action by the United States to end atrocities by the warring parties in Sudan, the future of Sudanese people will be hampered for generations to come.”
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