US sanctions Sudanese militia leader it accuses of genocide
The US imposed sanctions on January 7th on a Sudanese militia leader that it determined had committed genocide, report Reuters. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia that has fought Sudan’s military government since April 2023.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and allied militias had directed attacks against civilians, had systematically killed men and boys on an ethnic basis and targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.
“For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has engaged in a brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation,” the Treasury department said in a separate statement.
Reuters