The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed "genocide" in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued direct attacks against civilians.
The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.
"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.
'Brutal' armed conflict
Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him from travelling to the United States and freezing any US assets he might hold.
"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.
Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies have struggled to deliver relief.
The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
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