The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies have been targeting Masalit civilians in El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, since April 15, 2023.
A United Nations panel of experts found in January 2024 that the RSF and allied militias killed up to 15,000 people in El-Geneina.
Nearly a year later, the United States agreed with the UN experts, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken declaring on Tuesday that the RSF and its allies had committed genocide by attacking civilians and systematically murdering men and boys because of their ethnicity.
The determination led to US sanctions on several of the RSF’s shell companies in the United Arab Emirates and against the group’s leader, Mohamad Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.
Masalit survivors and analysts believe the designation and sanctions could isolate the RSF and permanently tarnish its image.
The RSF has carried out additional atrocities such as systematically gang-raping women and girls and carrying out what the US now considers a genocide against the Masalit.
Washington’s designation damages the RSF’s chances of coveting global legitimacy from Western powers.
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