The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to condemn what it calls acts of genocide in Sudan, following reports of mass killings and atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country’s ongoing civil war.

According to DA spokesperson on International Relations and Co-operation Ryan Smith: “Recent reports coming out of Sudan, where a brutal civil war has been raging between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are nothing short of devastating.” Smith said that after the RSF captured the city of El-Fasher in south-western Sudan, the militia embarked on: “summary executions, ethnic cleansing, and acts of genocide” which have claimed: “some 2 000 individuals, including women, children, and the elderly.”

Despite President Ramaphosa having met with the RSF leader in January 2024 where he called for: “an immediate ceasefire and dialogue towards permanent cessation of hostilities,” Smith said: “neither President Cyril Ramaphosa nor International Relations and Co-operation Minister Ronald Lamola have expressed adequate condemnation of these most recent gross human rights violations.”

Smith accused the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) of a: “tepid” response, saying the department was: “seeking to distance South Africa from the conflict” despite its earlier involvement.

“It is imperative that President Ramaphosa urgently engage the African Union through its Chairperson, His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, to begin the crucial process of negotiating a ceasefire,” Smith said. He added that South Africa should mobilise humanitarian aid for millions of displaced Sudanese and press both sides to find common ground.

Smith said South Africa’s: “selective diplomatic outrage at international conflicts” exposed the African National Congress’s: “exclusive and inconsistent interpretation and application of international law.” He said the government: “continues to express tacit support and tolerance for their political allies on the continent, conveniently ignoring the atrocities committed by liberation movements turned dictatorships.”

“The DA calls on President Ramaphosa to act against the very real genocides taking place in our own region, and work towards fostering peace and stability in Africa to ensure our continent’s shared prosperity going forward,” Smith said.