On January 7, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken officially declared that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militias have committed genocide amid the nation’s ongoing civil war. This marks a significant escalation in international recognition of the atrocities unfolding in Sudan since conflict erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

This determination follows Blinken’s December 2023 statement, which concluded that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing had been committed by members of the SAF and RSF and their allied militias. However, the new declaration of genocide underscores the RSF’s deliberate and systematic campaign of ethnic violence, evidenced by their ethnically targeted massacres of men, boys, and even infants, as well as widespread sexual violence against women and girls. 

Since its onslaught, the conflict in Sudan has rapidly spiraled into one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Over 28,000 people have been killed, millions displaced, and famine has seized large swaths of the country. According to UN estimates, more than 30 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid. 

In conjunction with the genocide determination, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, and seven RSF-linked companies based in the UAE. Hemedti, a former leader of the Janjaweed militia implicated in the Darfur genocide, now faces visa restrictions barring him and his family from entering the U.S. These sanctions aim to target the RSF’s alleged gold smuggling operations, which are believed to fund their military activities, as well as the procurement of weapons.