Lawmaker Calls for More Sudan Sanctions
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the Biden administration late Oct. 7 to impose “robust” sanctions on the leaders of Sudan’s two warring parties for what his office called “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”
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Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “have ravaged Sudan with utter impunity and brutality,” Smith asserted. They failed to allow humanitarian aid into Sudan, wouldn't let civilians leave combat zones, and are responsible for arbitrary killings, rapes, abductions, illicit gold mining and the recruitment of child soldiers, Smith said, citing a recent U.N. report.
“There will never be peace in Sudan until there is accountability for the atrocities committed by these twin butchers of Darfur,” he said.
Smith also called for stemming the flow of Sudanese gold to cut off a key revenue source for the RSF. He said the U.S. should work “with our partners to ensure gold is traced to its source and declared clean before entering the market.”
Smith made his comments less than a week after a bipartisan group of four senators announced plans to introduce a bill that would require the administration to develop a “comprehensive strategy” to use sanctions and other tools to protect civilians from Sudan’s civil war (see 2410030004).
The administration has announced several rounds of Sudan sanctions, including against the RSF’s procurement director this week (see 2410080018).
“We have been unequivocable about our position towards this senseless war in Sudan, which has forced 10 million people to flee their homes, nearly 1 million people in famine, 25 million people in acute food insecurity, and nearly the entire country facing unconscionable violence,” a National Security Council spokesperson said Oct. 8. “This is on the hands of the leaders of the SAF and RSF, and we condemn the ongoing horrific violence in the strongest terms.”