Updated: 12 December 2025 17:18:47
Rep. Chris Smith: Sudan Faces Genocide
Washington, D.C. – Moatinoon
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Rep. Chris Smith, warned that Sudan is experiencing “a complete state of collapse,” describing the ongoing atrocities as a “genocide that mirrors the horrors of Darfur two decades ago.”
Smith delivered his remarks during a hearing titled “Stopping the Bloodshed: U.S. Response to Crimes Against Humanity in Sudan,” which examined the escalating conflict and the U.S. role in addressing the crisis.
He stated that the international community has remained “paralyzed for far too long” as Sudanese civilians endure “unbearable pain, suffering, and loss of life.” He emphasized that both warring parties have committed “horrific atrocities, including arbitrary killings, mass rape, child soldier recruitment, and the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure.”
Highlighting one of the most brutal incidents, Smith condemned last week’s attack on a kindergarten in South Kordofan that killed more than 100 civilians—including at least 63 children—followed by attacks on first responders rushing to save the wounded.
According to Smith, an estimated 150,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced since the conflict erupted in April 2023, stressing that “these are not just numbers but shattered lives.”
Smith criticized previous delays in imposing sanctions, calling it “unconscionable” that Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was allowed to travel to New York and meet the UN Secretary-General, which he said granted legitimacy to “a man with massive amounts of blood on his hands.”
He also warned about foreign actors fueling the conflict, pointing to illicit Sudanese gold flows through the United Arab Emirates that fund the Rapid Support Forces’ war efforts, reports of Iranian drones supporting the SAF, and Russia’s pursuit of naval access to Port Sudan.
Smith insisted that peace in Sudan cannot be achieved without accountability for what he called the ‘twin butchers of Sudan’—Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).
He concluded by describing the hearing as “a global call to action,” urging an immediate cessation of hostilities but stressing that peace must not come at the expense of justice. He thanked the expert witnesses for their testimony on the worsening humanitarian and political situation.
