US determines Sudan's Rapid Support Forces committed genocide

​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

The US determined that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

"We are today sanctioning RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, known as Hemedti, for his role in systematic atrocities committed against the Sudanese people," Blinken said in a statement.

He said the RSF and aligned militias have continued to "direct attacks" against civilians, and have "systematically" murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other brutal sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing life-saving supplies, he added.

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions separately that it is sanctioning, in addition to Hemedti, seven companies and one individual linked to the RSF.

"For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has engaged in a brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation," it said.

Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the army and the RSF since April 2023.

The fighting has resulted in more than 20,000 deaths and displaced over 14 million people, according to estimates from the UN and local authorities.