US senators demand action after paramilitaries seize Darfur city in Sudan

Republican and Democratic U.S. senators have urged President Donald Trump's administration to respond firmly after Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized new territory, reportedly attacking civilians.

Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the U.S. to officially designate the RSF as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO), Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

"The horrors in Darfur’s El-Fasher were no accident — they were the RSF's plan all along. The RSF has waged terror and committed unspeakable atrocities, genocide among them, against the Sudanese people," he said in a statement on X on October 28.

On October 29, Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the committee's top Democrat, said she most likely would back such a response from Washington. Asked whether she would support an FTO designation, Shaheen told reporters, "Probably," but added she would like to take a longer look at the issue.

Shaheen also criticised the United Arab Emirates, which the Sudanese army accuses of providing military support to the RSF. The UAE denies the allegations. "The UAE has been an irresponsible player who has contributed to one of the worst humanitarian crises that we have on the planet right now," she said.

The conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the army and the RSF. It has unleashed waves of ethnic violence, created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and pushed several areas into famine. Tens of thousands have been killed, and around 13 million displaced.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans regarding the RSF designation.

In January, the administration of Trump’s Democratic predecessor, then-President Joe Biden, determined that members of the RSF and allied militias had committed genocide in Sudan and imposed sanctions on the group's leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti. The RSF has denied harming civilians.

Al-Fashir, the Sudanese army's last significant holdout in western Darfur, fell to the RSF on October 26 after an 18-month siege, consolidating the group's control of the area. Aid groups and activists have warned of potential ethnically motivated revenge attacks as the RSF overwhelmed army forces and allied fighters, many from the Zaghawa ethnic group.

Sudanese paramilitary forces reportedly beat and shot men fleeing from the long-besieged city in Darfur after capturing it. This account, provided by escapee Ikram Abdelhameed, is corroborated by statements from aid officials, satellite images, and unverified social media videos.

By Aghakazim Guliyev