The U.S. government has officially determined that genocide has been committed in Sudan, as announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on January 7, 2025. This declaration follows previous statements in December 2023, where he identified the actions of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, has resulted in what Blinken described as the "world's largest humanitarian catastrophe," affecting over 30 million people in need of assistance. The death toll remains uncertain, but tens of thousands are reported to have died since the conflict began.
According to Blinken, the RSF has systematically targeted civilians, including men, boys, and infants, based on ethnicity, and has committed acts of sexual violence against women and girls from specific ethnic groups. The RSF has also attacked fleeing civilians, complicating humanitarian efforts.
In response to the genocide determination, the U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, known as Hemedti, for his role in human rights violations, particularly in Darfur. Additionally, seven companies in the United Arab Emirates linked to the RSF have also been sanctioned.
The ongoing conflict began when the RSF and the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al Burhan, engaged in violent confrontations. Despite a commitment made in the 2023 Jeddah Declaration to protect civilians, the violence has persisted, marking this as the second genocide declared in Sudan since the early 2000s, following the Darfur genocide.