On the first Tuesday of 2025, The United States accused a Sudanese commando group and emissaries that were part of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – government troops – of committing genocide. This accusation brought the group copious attention and drew readers’ eyes to the advancements of Africa’s biggest war.
Historical context can be provided for the incident to understand the conflict better. According to Holocaust Museum Houston, Civil War has been present between Northern and Southern Sudan for over a decade, with the former being a predominantly Muslim region, and the latter having a predominantly Christian and animist population. The real conflict started with the fact that the Arab groups were nomadic herders, meaning they were people who moved their herds of livestock in search of food and water, and the Christian/animist groups were simply pastoralists, responsible for raising the livestock. The Sudanese government capitalized on these differences in a common field of work and utilized them to start a conflict in the region. Arab militia groups known as the “Janjaweed” were sent to attack the ethnic communities from the air, resulting in burnt villages and poisoned water sources. These acts resulted in the deaths of 2 million people and 4 million people displaced in the South alone.
In 2004, the U.S. government identified the RSF’s doings as genocide, due to the murders, violence, and rapes committed by the army onto a group of people employing an ethnic superiority complex. In March of 2009, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had an arrest warrant issued against him for being responsible for a thrust of mass murders, rapes, and raiding hundreds of thousands of Darfuri communities. Additionally, the wrongdoings of Omar al-Bashir did not stop with his crimes against humanity concerning the Darfur region. According to The Guardian, the ex-leader was convicted of corruption and the possession of foreign currency in late 2019 and was required to serve a two-year sentence in Sudan’s Kobar Prison. The ethnic violence came to a halt in 2011 when South Sudan was declared the world’s newest country. However, events occurring earlier this month have contradicted much of what world leaders have pushed for in Sudan: a region of peace and agreement, free of ethnic conflict.
The connection to the current scene of world politics and international law can be made through the most recent actions of the RSF concerning the Darfuri people. According to the United States Agency for International Development, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has determined on Tuesday, January 7 2025 that a sector of the RSF and their allies have once again committed genocide near Khartoum, Sudan. The murders of men, boys, and young children occurred based on ethnicity and cultural background, along with merciless sexual violence against women and young girls of select ethnic groups. Furthermore, those remaining unharmed no longer have access to life-saving supplies, as the Rapid Support Forces have eradicated them in their attacks. This is the second time in a generation that the Sudanese people have endured the horrors of genocide, solely a result of prevalent greed and desire for control by those in power. In light of the horrific events that occurred, the U.S. government has sanctioned RSF head Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Daglo Mousa for his role in encouraging the civil war, in addition to sanctioning seven RSF-owned companies based in the United Arab Emirates – such as Capital Tap Holding L.L.C. – for their supplying of weapons to the perpetrators of the incursions.
The state of Sudan and related territories is grim and abysmal. The region has faced mammoth amounts of adversity within the past twenty-five years and has grown to be incredibly weak, affecting individuals of all ages ethnicities, and general backgrounds. As grief, shock, and anger have made their way to Sudan from overseas in light of this news, the future of the Darfuri people is unknown; the RSF remains in power. The fate of the nation lies in the hands of countries in alliance with Sudan, as the U.S. may be setting a precedent for a fight against injustice. Only time will tell of what lies ahead for Sudan.
Written by Alexandra Kwitkowski
