Washington is ramping up pressure on both sides of Sudan’s civil war as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes for an end to the nearly three-year conflict.
The State Department said this week that it is designating the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization effective March 16. The move is widely seen as a win for the United Arab Emirates, which has long claimed the Sudanese Armed Forces’ Islamist allies are extremists blocking peace. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Brotherhood had been “trained and supported” by Iran.
But the announcement drew calls for similar penalties to be leveled at the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting Sudan’s armed forces. Sen. Jim Risch, chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration should “seriously consider” the same designation for the “genocidal” RSF. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal body in Washington, also recommended labeling RSF an “entity of particular concern” — a category used for non-state actors accused of religious freedom violations.
Meanwhile, Sudan hired Washington lobbying firm The Williams Group, signaling Khartoum’s intent to more aggressively shape its image in the US capital.