US Senate pushes for designation of Sudan's RSF as terrorist group

Sudanese General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemeti, commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries, looks on during a meeting with his supporters in the capital Khartoum on June 18, 2019. [AFP]

The US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee has called for the designation of Sudan’s rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a terrorist group after reports of the killing of over 400 civilians during a hostile takeover of El-Fasher in the Darfur region emerged.

The committee’s chairperson Jim Risch, and other ranking members, said they were ‘horrified’ by the ‘genocide’ adding that it was time for the US government to reconsider its handling of the paramilitary group.

“The RSF’s long-predicted ethnically targeted assault on the civilian population of El-Fasher makes clear that the United States must consider the designation of the RSF as a potential Foreign Terrorist Organization or Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization,” the senators stated.

The lawmakers have also expressed concern over the risk further fighting in Sudan poses to the American and global interests given its strategic location that makes it vital for global trade and energy plans.

Further, security concerns have emerged as the war creates an enabling environment for the smuggling of arms and minerals such as gold.

While calling for an immediate ceasefire, the senators accused some foreign countries of profiteering from the bloodletting, including some governments within the East Africa region.

“Foreign backers of the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia, Iran, China and governments in the immediate region –have fueled and profited from the conflict and legitimized the monsters destroying Sudan,” the senators claimed.

According to the United Nations (UN), 460 people were killed on Tuesday, October 28, when RSF soldiers attacked a maternity hospital, two days after the city fell under the control of the group.

The BBC reported that RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly called Hemedti, had promised to investigate the killings that were recorded in viral videos.

The WHO office in Sudan said that six health workers were abducted and now wants medics working in conflict zones to be protected.

The Sudan civil war has been going on since 2023.