There is a strong case for designating Sudan’s RSF militia as a terrorist organisation

Last month, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia stormed dozens of villages in Gezira in the centre of Sudan. They looted homes and killed hundreds of people, while displacing thousands more. The massacre was condemned around the world.

This brutal incident was not isolated, though; it represented a screenshot of the bloody history of the militia, which has committed all kinds of violations. So much so, in fact, that there is ample evidence to back up the case for designating the RSF as a terrorist group. Doing so would limit the militia’s capacity for violence and protect the Sudanese people.

The RSF emerged as a rebrand of the notorious Janjaweed militia to support the central government’s counterinsurgency operations in Darfur and South Kordofan. In 2017, the Sudanese parliament passed a law legitimising its activities. Over the years, the militia has committed countless crimes and atrocities, not least during the ongoing war since April 2023. These include the destruction of villages; the killing of protesters; sexual violations and rape; unlawful detentions; the targeting of hospitals and churches; and attacks on journalists and media institutions. Furthermore, the RSF has committed ethnic-based killings and recruited children as soldiers.

READ: Sudan’s RSF chases civilians out of villages in violent raids

In addition to these horrendous human rights violations and other crimes, the militia has also engaged in other criminal activities, such as collaborating with Wagner mercenaries to smuggle Sudanese gold to Russia in exchange for receiving arms. The RSF’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemedti, openly defended the invasion of Ukraine and threatened Europe with an influx of immigrants.

The Sudanese government has already started taking practical steps to designate the RSF as a terrorist organisation.

In September last year, Sudan’s army chief General Abdul Fattah Burhan, who is also the chairman of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, asked for such a designation to be made internationally while addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. In January this year, the Sudanese foreign minister repeated the request to the UN Security Council following the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan which detailed the violations and crimes committed by the militia during the ongoing war.

Recently, there have been several social media campaigns and online petitions that call for the RSF’s designation. Individuals who are participating in these campaigns are sharing examples of incidents that expose how the militia is attacking and harassing them. All of these grassroots initiatives demonstrate the public support for a terrorist designation of the militia.

Such a move will send a strong signal that the world rejects it and that the RSF can’t be part of Sudan’s political future. Moreover, it will have a practical impact on limiting the arms supply and funding from countries that back the militia, such as the UAE, which will be legally obliged to abstain from this destructive role.

It’s time for the international community to replace the imperfect sanctions policy, which has produced no tangible results to deter the militia from committing more crimes, with more robust and long-lasting solutions.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.