Genocide in Sudan: How did this crisis come about?

Genocide in Sudan: How did this crisis come about?

This week the United States accused the RSF militia of committing genocide in Sudan's brutal civil war. It is the second time in two decades that genocide has been declared in the northeast African country, where thousands have died and millions are suffering a humanitarian crisis.

The path to crisis

For 20 months, two of Sudan's most powerful generals - Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - have been fighting brutally for territory in a country still reeling from the massacre of tens of thousands of people in the early 2000s and where millions have been displaced.

The two men, once allies, have something in common President Omar al-Bashir was forced out of office in 2019. Together they also contributed to second takeover of power in 2021 when al-Burhan took control from the interim government. Today, Sudan is torn by conflict, with the RSF seen as ruler of much of the country's western and central regions, including Darfur and parts of the capital Khartoum.

The humanitarian catastrophe

Over 11 million people have been internally displaced since fighting began in April 2023, the United Nations said, while millions more have fled Sudan. Hunger is widespread and famine conditions have already been identified in several areas of the country, the UN warns.

responsibility for the atrocities

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the RSF and its Arab militias had carried out “direct attacks on civilians,” including the systematic murder of “men and boys – even infants – on an ethnic basis.” They also “deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” Blinken added. “The same group attacked the fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people trying to escape the conflict, while denying the remaining civilians access to life-saving supplies.”
“Based on this information, I have concluded that members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan,” Blinken said.

The RSF rejected the US decision as "unlawful" and said in a statement on its Telegram channel that the State Department's claim that the RSF committed genocide in Sudan was inaccurate. "The decision does not specify the group against whom the alleged genocide was committed or the location of the genocide... The decision makes vague references to the Sudanese people, of which the RSF's fighters and supporters form an integral part," the RSF statement said.

History and contemporary violence

The RSF is said to have a history of ethnically motivated violence. The paramilitary group emerged from the Arab Janjaweed militia, which was responsible for the genocide in the early 2000s in which an estimated 300,000 people died. Since fighting broke out in April 2023 between the RSF and SAF, ethnically motivated killings have increased, particularly in the western Darfur region, similar to the pattern of targeted killings that characterized the first genocide.

Some of the worst ethnic-based killings occurred in West Darfur in 2023, when hundreds of people from non-Arab ethnic groups were killed by the RSF and its affiliated forces massacred became. On Tuesday, the US imposed sanctions on its leader Hemedti "for his role in systematic atrocities against the Sudanese people" and sanctioned seven RSF-linked companies and an individual "for their role in procuring weapons for the RSF."

The role of the conflicting parties

In September last year, one accused UN fact-finding mission both the SAF and the RSF of complicity in war crimes. In his statement, Blinken blamed both sides for the atrocities. “The United States does not support either side in this war, and these actions against Hemedti and the RSF do not mean that we support or favor the SAF,” he said. “Both parties to the conflict bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and do not have the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan.”

The humanitarian crisis and its consequences

Epidemics and famine have become widespread in Sudan. Before the deadly power struggle between the SAF and RSF, Sudan was already one of the world's poorest countries, with decades of conflict hampering economic growth. The ongoing war has displaced more than 11 million people in Sudan, while around 3.2 million others have fled to neighboring countries, according to UN figures. Many of those unable to flee live in the Zanzam camp in Darfur, where famine was declared last month.

Hunger in Darfur has forced some to eat "grass and peanut shells" to survive, WFP's then regional director for East Africa, Michael Dunford, reported last year, while the UN warns that some 26 million Sudanese are suffering from acute hunger. Food aid for Darfur was resumed last August, after a key border crossing was reopened by authorities to bring aid into Sudan. But restrictions continue to hamper aid organizations in parts of Darfur, and famine is spreading to additional areas.

International reactions

The conflict in Sudan has been largely overshadowed by conflicts in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine and Gaza, as International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva noted last year. Nevertheless, the fighting parties in the African country also have global efforts for peace ignored. Last month, Blinken told the U.N. Security Council that foreign actors were fueling the war in Sudan, but did not name names.

"To the foreign supporters sending drones, missiles and mercenaries - enough! To those profiting from the illegal oil and gold trade that finances this conflict - enough!" he said. Sudan's military government has often accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the RSF, something the Gulf nation denies. The seven RSF-affiliated companies sanctioned by the US on Tuesday are all based in the UAE.

The future and the hope for peace

Sudanese lawyer Mutasim Ali told CNN that the US designation of genocide in Sudan was "long overdue" and should have come sooner. Nevertheless, it is “a form of justice because it recognizes the grievances of the victims.” He added: "It is a step towards peace and accountability by paving the way to hold actors accountable, not only the perpetrators themselves, but also the actors who contributed to the genocide."

For activist Al-Karib, US sanctions against Hemedti and the declaration of genocide could be crucial to not only keep his militia in check but also reduce the support he receives from foreign actors. “We do not think that the scale of these atrocities in Sudan and Darfur would have been so great if it were not for the UAE's support to the RSF,” she said.
“We hope that the US decision to sanction Hemedti sends a strong message to the UAE to reconsider its position and begin a serious political process to end these atrocities and genocidal acts across the country.”