Calls Within US Congress to Designate RSF a Terrorist Organization While Ignoring the UAE’s Role

Washington – Sudanhorizon

The American newspaper National Security Affairs (NATSEC) published on Saturday a summary of the latest developments within the US Congress regarding the war in Sudan and its stance on the Rapid Support Forces militia.

The summary, prepared by Daniela Chislow and Giselle Rohier Ewing, indicated that the recent violence in Sudan has prompted Congress to take action, with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (Republican from Idaho) leading the call to designate the Rapid Support Forces as a foreign terrorist organization.

The summary suggests that the prevailing trend will be to eliminate the Rapid Support Forces militia while turning a blind eye to the actions of its supporters, who have begun criticizing RSF, albeit superficially.

In a statement released last Thursday, Senator Risch, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), and two other Republican and Democratic lawmakers said the attack on El Fasher demonstrated that “the United States should consider designating the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a possible foreign terrorist organization or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization.”

However, the newspaper article is unclear on how far those seeking to end the violence in Sudan will go in punishing the countries that contribute to fueling the conflict. Notably, none of them mentioned the root cause of the problem and the militia’s biggest funding partner, as if they were trying to break the spear rather than cut off the hand that wields it to inflict harm on the Sudanese people.

The lawmakers named the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) supporters in their statement.

The senators wrote: “Foreign backers of the RSF and the SAF—including the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Iran, China, and neighboring regional governments—have fueled and profited from the conflict and legitimized the monsters that are destroying Sudan.” But the statement does not call for any specific action against those countries.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, told the NatSec Daily that the United States should take more drastic measures than simply designating the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a terrorist organization.

“Well, we should look at it, but I think the strongest action would be to pass the legislation I introduced, which would prohibit U.S. arms sales to the UAE until the UAE stops arming the murderous RSF,” he said. Michael Ratney, the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, added that Risch’s approach might be the most realistic.

“We have a very close strategic relationship with the Emiratis,” Ratney told the NatSec Daily. “They buy U.S. weapons systems, they cooperate with U.S. Central Command, and there are close trade ties between the United States and the UAE. An arms embargo is not the way the United States will deal with the UAE, no matter how angry we are. But taking action against the RSF itself is another matter, and it is entirely possible.”

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