US Lawmakers demand action following RSF ‘atrocities’

WASHINGTON: Bipartisan pressure is mounting in Washington after Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El-Fashir, the last major army stronghold in Darfur, following what aid groups described as brutal assaults on civilians.

Republican Senator Jim Risch, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the Trump administration to formally label the RSF a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). “The horrors in El-Fashir were not accidental — they were orchestrated,” he said, accusing the group of genocide and systematic terror.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen signaled likely support for such a move but said she would review the implications. She also criticised the United Arab Emirates, echoing Sudanese army accusations that the Gulf state has aided the RSF. “The UAE has been an irresponsible player, deepening one of the worst humanitarian crises on Earth,” she said.

The war in Sudan, now in its third year, erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese army, displacing over 13 million people and killing tens of thousands. The Biden administration had earlier determined the RSF committed genocide and sanctioned its leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).

The State Department has not commented on whether it will proceed with a terrorist designation, as global outrage intensifies over the atrocities in Darfur.