USCIRF urges designation of Sudan’s RSF as religious freedom violator
March 4, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – A U.S. government advisory panel has recommended for the first time that the State Department designate Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as an “entity of particular concern” following severe violations of religious freedom.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in its 2026 annual report that the paramilitary group had carried out systematic and egregious abuses throughout 2025. The recommendation comes as the group continues to exercise significant territorial control amid Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
The commission highlighted a September 2025 drone strike by the RSF that struck a mosque in al-Fasher, killing more than 70 people. Beyond targeted strikes, the report found that RSF fighters have looted or repurposed houses of worship and threatened or displaced religious leaders.
Religious minorities in Sudan have faced heightened vulnerabilities as state authority fragmented during the conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces. In contested areas, local authorities have frequently failed to provide meaningful protection for sacred sites and clerics.
An “entity of particular concern” (EPC) designation is applied to non-state groups that exercise significant political power and territorial control while remaining outside the oversight of a sovereign government. The commission also recommended that the State Department redesignate several other groups as EPCs, including al-Shabaab and Islamic State affiliates in West Africa and the Sahel.
The USCIRF report noted that the conflict in Sudan has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. While the paramilitary group claims to be a legitimate force, investigators documented a pattern of arbitrary detentions targeting religious minorities in areas under its control.
The commission is an independent, bipartisan body that monitors religious freedom abroad and makes policy recommendations to the U.S. president, the secretary of state, and Congress. While its recommendations are not legally binding, they often serve as a basis for U.S. diplomatic pressure and targeted sanctions against human rights violators.