Washington, D.C. -Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks and Chairman Brian Mast issued the following statement condemning the Rapid Support Forces' escalation of violence against non-Arab communities in Sudan and urging the safe passage of humanitarian assistance to those in need:

"We condemn what amounts to the horrific conclusion of an 18-month siege in Al-Fashir, Sudan, where the genocidal campaign waged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has reached a terrifying peak. Credible video and reports show summary extrajudicial mass executions, targeted ethnic cleansing against non-Arab communities-including the Fur and Zaghawa people-and the wholesale slaughter of civilians. This is not war, it is calculated, systematic genocide, perpetrated by the same Janjaweed forces responsible for genocide in Darfur 20 years ago.

"Those responsible must face real accountability. The RSF must grant safe passage to civilians and allow the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need."