JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – The Biden Administration has been blasted by the incoming Chairman of the Senate International Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., for “waiting” till the outgoing President had solely 13 days left in workplace earlier than declaring insurgent actions in Sudan, a rustic torn aside by 21 months of bitter struggle, to be “genocide.”
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that members of the Sudanese insurgent group, the Fast Help Forces or RSF, “have committed genocide in Sudan.”
In a press release, Blinken mentioned, “The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities. We are sanctioning RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, known as Hemedti, for his role in systematic atrocities committed against the Sudanese people.”
Blinken made his rulings, he acknowledged, as a result of “the RSF and RSF-aligned militias have continued to direct attacks against civilians, have systematically murdered men and boys—even infants—on an ethnic basis, and (have) deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence.”
The Secretary continued, “Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies.”
Blinken added that the African nation is struggling by “a conflict of unmitigated brutality that has resulted in the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe, leaving 638,000 Sudanese experiencing the worst famine in Sudan’s recent history, over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and tens of thousands dead.”
Risch has held out that the scenario in Sudan has been catastrophic for effectively over a 12 months, and referred to as into query the timing of Blinken’s declaration. In a press release earlier this week, he wrote, “It has been nearly a year since I introduced a resolution calling the atrocities in Sudan what they are: a genocide. Additionally, I first called for Global Magnitsky sanctions to be imposed against the RSF and Hemedti 263 days ago – and yet these sanctions still have not been leveraged.”
Risch spoke to Fox Information Digital, declaring, “The Biden Administration waited until it has less than two weeks in office to sanction RSF-affiliated companiesand Hemedti for their crimes and to call atrocities in Sudan a genocide.”
Risch mentioned, “This neglect to address the crisis in Sudan weakened America’s influence in the region and the world years ago. If the Biden Administration backed its rhetoric with action, Sudan would be in a better position today, more lives would be saved, and the foreign proxies exacerbating this conflict would be kept at bay.”
Risch added, “This war must end. Further instability in Sudan will only breed terrorism and regional turmoil, threatening global security. The U.S. and our allies must seek to end the killing and atrocities, end the malign actions by proxies, manage migration pressures from mass displacement and protect strategic interests like the Red Sea corridor.”
In a press release to Fox Information Digital, the U.S. Particular Envoy for Sudan, Thomas Perriello, mentioned “Making an atrocity determination is an immense responsibility that the Secretary takes seriously. Such determinations are based on a careful review of the facts and the law. It requires information not only of certain acts but also that those acts were done with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a racial, ethnic, national, or religious group. Information demonstrating intent is often difficult to find and assess.”
“Since the start of the conflict the United States has taken repeated action to promote accountability of the RSF for its atrocities conduct. The U.S. already had sanctioned five RSF leaders, including two of Hemedti’s brothers. We also determined in December 2023 that members of the RSF committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. So the designation of Hemedti and the genocide determination reflect a consistent effort to document and call out atrocities, acknowledge the suffering of victims and survivors, and pursue justice and accountability.”
In his declaration, Blinken introduced new sanctions stating, “We are also sanctioning seven RSF-owned companies located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one individual for their roles in procuring weapons for the RSF.”
The Treasury Division additionally despatched out a press release, nearly concurrently to the one from State, saying “the RSF’s ability to acquire military equipment and generate finances continue to fuel the conflict in Sudan.” Treasury acknowledged one explicit firm within the UAE, owned by a Sudanese nationwide “has provided money and weapons to the RSF.”
Different UAE firms sanctioned this previous week have been accused by the Treasury Division of dealing with monetary transactions, of being “an essential part of the RSF’s efforts to finance its operations”, and of importing IT and safety gear .
One gold firm within the UAE has been sanctioned as a result of it has allegedly “purchased gold from Sudan, presumably for the benefit of the RSF, and subsequently transported it to Dubai.” Moreover, Treasury claimed “the RSF’s procurement director and brother of RSF leader Hemedti maintained access to (the gold company’s) bank account in the UAE, which held millions of dollars.”
“The United States continues to call for an end to this conflict that is putting innocent civilian lives in jeopardy,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo acknowledged. “The Treasury Department remains committed to using every tool available to hold accountable those responsible for violating the human rights of the Sudanese people.”
In response to Fox Information Digital questions involving UAE registered firms an official from its overseas ministry fired again, stating. “The UAE’s primary focus in Sudan remains on addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis. We continue to call for an immediate cease-fire and a peaceful resolution to this man-made conflict. In this regard, the UAE has already made absolutely clear that it is not providing any support or supplies to either of two belligerent warring parties in Sudan.”
The official continued, “the UAE takes its role in protecting the integrity of the international financial system extremely seriously. We remain committed to combating financial crime globally, enhancing international cooperation and developing strategies to address emerging risks.”
