US imposes sanctions on Sudan’s  RSF leader Hemedti

The U.S government on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Mohamed Hamdan Daglo Mousa, commonly known as Hemedti, for his role in fueling the war in Sudan.
RSF soldiers in Khartoum, Sudan, June 2019. Pic: Reuters

By Awan Achiek

The U.S government on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Mohamed Hamdan Daglo Mousa, commonly known as Hemedti, for his role in fueling the war in Sudan.

The U.S Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also sanctioned seven RSF-owned companies based in the United Arab Emirates and one individual for their roles in procuring weapons and providing other material support for the RSF.

The RSF has been fighting Sudan’s army for territorial control of the country since war erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.

The deadly violence displaced over 11 million people out of their homes, tens of thousands dead, and 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

As a result of these atrocities and the ongoing conflict, half of Sudan’s population faces acute food insecurity, and at least 638,000 people are living in famine.

The U.S accuses the RSF and its allied militias of committing genocide in Sudan.

This determination comes 20 years after Secretary Colin Powell declared that the Janjaweed—the predecessor of the RSF—and the Government of Sudan were committing genocide in Sudan.

U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Tuesday alleged the RSF and its allied militias are committing murder on an ethnic basis.

“The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys—even infants—on an ethnic basis and committed rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence against women and girls of certain ethnic groups,” said Blinken.

He claimed that the paramilitary force murdered innocent people attempting to flee the violence and prevented remaining civilians from accessing life-saving supplies.

“The U.S. government used extensive documentary evidence in making this genocide determination, including eyewitness accounts, photographs, investigative work by relentless journalists, and videos by members of the RSF themselves,” said Blinken.

Blinken disclosed they documented the crimes in video, showing horrific testament by victims to the consequences of decades of impunity for atrocities and genocide perpetrated against them by RSF.

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