Blinken details pattern of systematic ethnic violence in which RSF killed civilians and blocked access to supplies. The United States has formally declared that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces have committed genocide during the country’s ongoing civil war, marking the second time in less than 30 years that genocide has been perpetrated in Sudan.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, announced the determination on Tuesday while imposing sanctions on the RSF commander Mohammad Hamdan Daglo – known as Hemedti – for his role in what he described as “systematic atrocities”, many perpetrated in west Darfur.
While both the RSF and rival Sudanese Armed Forces have been accused of committing war crimes during the civil war which broke out in 2023, and which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, Blinken detailed a pattern of systematic ethnic violence in which RSF had killed civilians as they tried to flee, and blocked access to essential supplies.
Blinken said that the state department had conducted months of deliberation over the genocide designation. “Based on this information, I have now concluded that members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan,” he said. Blinken’s announcement on Tuesday has come amid heightened global scrutiny of US positions on international conflicts. Just days earlier, Blinken had dismissed suggestions that events in Gaza constituted genocide, responding: “No, it’s not” in an interview with the New York Times.
