Johannesburg, South Africa – Biden administration He was harshly criticized by the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, for “waiting” until the outgoing president had only 13 days left in office before declaring rebellion in Sudan, a fractured country. 21 months before the bitter war, becoming a “genocide.”
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that members of the Sudanese rebel group, the Rapid Support Forces, “committed genocide in Sudan.”
“The United States is committed to holding those responsible for these atrocities accountable,” Blinken said in a statement. “We are imposing sanctions on the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Musa, known as Hemedti, for his role in systematic atrocities committed against the Sudanese people.”
US President Joe Biden speaks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) during a three-way meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in the East Room of the White House on April 11, 2024, in Washington, DC. Three countries are meeting for the first-ever trilateral summit in a show of solidarity, as China's pressure in the South China Sea raises tensions in the region. (Photo by Andrew Harnick/Getty Images.)
He stated that Blinken issued his rulings because “the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias continued to launch direct attacks against civilians, systematically killed men and boys – even infants – on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from different regions of the world.” Certain ethnic groups for rape and other brutal forms of sexual violence.”
The minister continued: “These same militias targeted fleeing civilians, killed innocent people fleeing the conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing life-saving supplies.”
Blinken added African nation The country is suffering from “an utterly brutal conflict that has led to the world's largest humanitarian catastrophe, leaving 638,000 Sudanese suffering from the worst famine in Sudan's modern history, more than 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and tens of thousands dead.”
Risch stressed that the situation in Sudan has been catastrophic for more than a year, and raised questions about the timing of Blinken’s announcement. In a statement issued earlier this week, he wrote: “It has been almost a year since I introduced a resolution calling the atrocities in Sudan what they are: genocide. Additionally, I called for the first time to impose Global Magnitsky Act sanctions against the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces. Hemedti 263 days ago – and so far these sanctions have not been activated.”
Fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a Sudanese rebel group active in Sudan's Darfur state and supporting army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, attend a graduation ceremony in the country's southeastern Gedaref state on March 28, 2024. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
“The Biden administration waited until it had less than two weeks left in power to impose sanctions on companies linked to RSF forces,” Risch spoke to Fox News Digital. Hemedti for their crimes and described the atrocities in Sudan as genocide.
Risch said: “This negligence in addressing the crisis in Sudan has weakened America’s influence in the region and the world for years. If the Biden administration backed up its rhetoric with actions, Sudan would be in a better position today, more lives would be saved, and “foreign agents who cause “This conflict has worsened.”
“This war must end,” Risch added. “Further instability in Sudan will only breed terrorism and regional unrest, threatening global security. The United States and its allies must seek to end the killing and atrocities, and end the malicious actions of proxies.” and managing migration pressures from abroad. Mass displacement and the protection of strategic interests such as the Red Sea corridor.”
Removing the UAE and other countries from the international money laundering watch list
People ride a truck as they leave Khartoum, Sudan, on June 19, 2023. Dozens of people, including children, have been subjected to rape and abuse, the UN Human Rights Office said in a new report on Friday, February 23, 2024. And other forms of sexual violence in the ongoing conflict in Sudan, and attacks that may amount to war crimes. (AP photo, file)
Announcing new sanctions, Blinken said: “We are also imposing sanctions on seven companies owned by the Rapid Support Forces located in United Arab Emirates (United Arab Emirates) and one individual for their role in purchasing weapons for the Rapid Support Forces.”
The Treasury Department also sent a statement, almost simultaneously with the State Department statement, saying that the RSF's “ability to acquire military equipment and generate funds continues to fuel conflict in Sudan.” The Treasury Department stated that a certain company in the United Arab Emirates, owned by a Sudanese national, “provided funds and weapons to the Rapid Support Forces.”
Charges were brought against other Emirati companies that were subject to sanctions last week Ministry of Treasury Handling financial transactions, being “an essential part of the Rapid Support Forces’ efforts to finance their operations,” and importing information technology and security equipment.
A UAE gold company was sanctioned because it allegedly “purchased gold from Sudan, likely for the Rapid Support Forces, and then transported it to Dubai.” In addition, the Treasury Department claimed that “the RSF Procurement Director and the brother of the RSF Commander Hemedti had access to (the gold company’s) bank account in the United Arab Emirates, which contained millions of dollars.”
Women from El Geneina, West Darfur, cry after receiving news of their missing relatives in Ardemta, as they wait for them in Adre, Chad, November 7, 2023. Ardemta was the latest site of an ethnic cleansing operation led by the RSF and allied Arabs. Militias against the African Masalit ethnic tribe. (Reuters/Al-Tayeb Siddiq).
“The United States continues to call for an end to this conflict that endangers the lives of innocent civilians,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. He added: “The Treasury Department remains committed to using all available tools to hold accountable those responsible for violating the human rights of the Sudanese people.”
In response to Fox News Digital's questions regarding companies registered in the UAE, an official from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded, saying: “The UAE's primary focus in Sudan remains on addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis. We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful solution.” This is a man-made conflict. In this regard, the UAE has already made it clear that it will not provide any support or supplies to either of the warring parties in Sudan.”
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The official continued: “The UAE takes its role in protecting the integrity of the international financial system very seriously. We remain committed to combating financial crimes globally, enhancing international cooperation, and developing strategies to address emerging risks.”
