Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Senate President Pro Tempore
“Sudan’s Civil War”
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Since 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a civil war between the Sudanese armed forces under the government of that country and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, it’s called, it’s termed in the paper and reports regularly as Rapid Support Forces as “RSF.”
After an 18-month siege of El-Fasher in the Darfur region, RSF forces took control, and the Sudanese armed forces retreated.
Now, the RSF controls roughly half of the country of Sudan.
Following the violent takeover of El-Fasher, there have been reports of mass killings, reports of executions and reports of sexual violence.
According to the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University, satellite imagery found evidence of mass killings and executions.
The Humanitarian Research Lab also alleges war crimes, including the targeting of health facilities, targeting of workers, patients and even humanitarian aid workers.
Through the course of this conflict, millions have been displaced and tens of thousands have been killed.
The United Nations has determined that the conflict in Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
Our own country, the United States, has condemned reports of mass atrocities committed by the RSF in El-Fasher.
The United States has gone as far as, in January 2025, to declare that the RSF and its allied militias are committing genocide in Sudan.
The atrocities in Sudan are not just a foreign tragedy.
I have been hearing from Sudanese Iowans who have families in Sudan.
I wish the Trump administration well as it attempts to bring the violence to a halt, and I’ve heard President Trump in his many news conferences sometimes bring the Sudan atrocities to attention and indicating he wants to take some action to bring peace to that country. I thank him for doing that.
The Sudanese people have been through enough over the years and deserve a chance at a peaceful and prosperous life.
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