In April 2023, war broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. The fallout has been devastating: reported figures point to thousands of deaths and millions displaced from their homes since the fighting began. The United Nations has, in fact, described the conflict as the worst humanitarian crisis on earth.
On its part, the EU intervened through different measures to end this war, including sanctions; most recently, there have been several calls to designate the RSF militia as a terrorist group by the EU. This step would have a significant impact in limiting the capabilities of the militia and hence its capacity to commit more genocides against sudanese.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) originated from Sudan’s Janjaweed militias.
They were formally established in 2013 to fight rebels in Darfur and South Kordofan.
Sudan’s parliament granted the RSF legal recognition as a security force in 2017.
Over the years, the RSF committed countless crimes, including village destruction, mass killings, and sexual violence. Other atrocities include arbitrary detentions, drone attacks on hospitals and journalists, and the use of child soldiers.
Evidently, the RSF militia’s ceaseless attacks on civilians with the obvious intention to advance its political interests perfectly fit the definition of terrorism; these terrorist actions by the militia have been proven to be part of its nature and not isolated violations by its members.
Recently, there has been a push by several actors to designate the militia; for instance, members of the European Parliament requested that the EU add the RSF to its list of terrorist organizations; a designation proposal was also submitted to the French parliament; moreover, a legal case filed by a law firm hired by the Darfur governor is pursuing the same goal.
Importantly, to avoid any repercussions on civilians in areas controlled by the militia, any designation decision must ensure that humanitarian work and activities would not be impacted
It’s expected that the UAE, the main sponsor of the RSF militia, will leverage its economic ties with the EU to block the designation of the militia; the EU is hereby challenged to adhere to its principles and never be complicit in prolonging the war in Sudan.
For the EU, the designation step will be important in curbing the influence of a war militia whose leader once defended the invasion of Ukraine and threatened to weaponize illegal immigration to Europe, and recklessly expanded the war to the Red Sea, threatening to destabilize this crucial world trade corridor.
Mohamed Suliman is a researcher and writer based in Boston. His recent articles tackle the War in Sudan. He holds a degree in engineering from the University of Khartoum.
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