Sudan Rejects US Accusations Against Army

Sudan Events

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SMFA) on Thursday rejected the United States’ accusations against the Sudanese Army of committing war crimes. It said Washington has ignored countless violations and persecutions committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and neglected to mention the countries that support them.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday that the United States concluded that both sides of the conflict in Sudan committed war crimes, and that the RSF and their allied militias were involved in crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
The official US decision was the result of a detailed legal process and analysis led by the US State Department, but it does not automatically include punitive measures and therefore has no immediate consequences for both parties.
The decision came after the faltering of the talks sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United States with the aim of stopping the fighting between the two warring parties in Sudan again, but the army and the RSF continued military actions.
In a statement, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the US government’s findings that the “rebel militia” committed crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, crimes of sexual violence, attacking and kidnapping women and girls, and targeting displaced people and those fleeing the fighting, in such a manner similar to genocide.
But the Sudanese Ministry expressed surprise and rejection of accusing the armed forces of committing war crimes, saying that it was an unfounded accusation.
The Sudanese Ministry also rejected what it said were generalized allegations that equated the armed forces with the rebel militia which is responsible for unleashing horrific violence, death and destruction, detaining civilians, and killing some of them in detention sites, because, according to the statement, these practices were what the rebel RSF militia do exclusively, but the armed forces are accused of them. It is not based on any evidence.
The statement pointed out that the US State Department neglected to point out the duty and right of the armed forces to defend the country and the people and protect the headquarters of its leaders, “in face of a barbaric aggression by a militia, made up of mercenaries, targeting all elements of life, sovereign and civil in the country.”
It further added that Washington’s statement neglected to mention other serious crimes committed by the militia, such as its occupation of hundreds of thousands of citizens’ homes in the capital, the displacement of at least 5 million of their residences, and the conversion of hospitals, universities, places of worship, and other civilian real estates into military barracks, in violation of commitments made in the Jeddah Declaration of Humanitarian Principles signed since May 11 and practices that resemble slavery against kidnapped girls.
The ministry also pointed out that the US State Department neglected to mention the countries that continue to supply the rebel militia with weapons and mercenaries, and have close relations with the United States, which makes these countries partners and responsible for the crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing committed by the rebel militia, despite the overwhelming and documented testimonies about the role of these countries and the demands of Congress and a number of organizations and experts for the United States government to take a clear position against these countries.
On Wednesday, members of the US Congress called on President Biden’s administration to exert greater pressure on the UAE, which is accused of supporting the RSF in its war against the Sudanese army