2/11/2025 Sudan (International Christian Concern) — In the last weeks of the Biden administration, the United States declared that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were guilty of committing an ongoing genocide in Sudan. Citing the systematic murder of men and boys and widespread sexual violence against women and girls of the Masalit ethnic group, the United States levied a raft of sanctions against the RSF, its leaders, and companies in the United Arab Emirates that had been supporting the group financially.

The genocide declaration, late as it came in the Biden administration, drew comparisons to the first Trump administration’s decision to declare China’s actions against its Uyghur Muslim community a genocide just one day before President Biden’s 2021 inauguration. Both declarations were upheld by the successive administration, highlighting the high levels of evidence supporting a heavily scrutinized decision.

The RSF grew out of the Janjaweed, a group of Sudanese militias that carried out the Darfur genocide, recognized by the United States in 2004.

The current conflict, born out of fighting between the Sudanese military and the RSF, has led to one the largest humanitarian crises in the world since igniting in 2023. As of this week, more than 12.5 million people have been forcibly displaced as a result of the fighting, per U.N. estimates.

According to reports, 165 churches have had to close since the war started in 2023. Some churches are used as bases for military operations in the war, with people sheltering there forced out or even killed to make way for soldiers. Members of the clergy have been targeted, with soldiers shooting or stabbing priests and others during their raids.

The well-equipped Sudanese military often bombs churches, indiscriminately injuring or killing those sheltering inside, including women and children.

Both sides of the conflict have been responsible for immense human suffering and have acted in ways that directly kill, harm, and displace civilians. Afraid of losing leverage or battlefield advantage, both sides have also blocked humanitarian assistance from reaching those in need. Speaking to this issue, the White House last year called on both parties to “immediately allow unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of Sudan” and reverse their decisions to “delay and disrupt lifesaving humanitarian operations.”