WASHINGTON (CN) — The United States will extend immigration protections for Sudanese refugees as news of atrocities continues to pour out of a civil war that shows no sign of slowing down.
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced it would continue offering the Temporary Protected Status for Sudan for 18 months longer than planned.
Under protected status people can legally live and work in the U.S. if they cannot return to their home countries for a variety of reasons, such as natural disasters or war. The status for Sudan was set to expire on Oct. 20, but will now last through April 19, 2025.
Homeland Security estimated the program benefits about 1,200 Sudanese, but an additional 2,750 could be eligible under the re-designation.
Sudan has been in a state of worsening civil war since fighting broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, derailing a Western-brokered transition to democracy after decades of military and authoritarian rule.
“Since the military takeover of its government and the recent violent clashes, Sudan has experienced political instability and ongoing conflict that has resulted in a humanitarian crisis,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a press release. “Under this extension and redesignation, we will continue to offer safety and protection to Sudanese nationals until conditions in their home country improve.”
More than 3.4 million people have been displaced within Sudan, while another 1 million have fled the country, according to United Nations estimates, threatening stability in the region. UN agencies have estimated 4,000 people have been killed in the conflict, but the actual death toll is likely far higher.
While both sides have been widely condemned for war crimes, sexual assaults and ethnic violence, human rights organizations and the United Nations have this week raised the alarm about atrocities committed by the RSF.
Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned the paramilitary for actions in its stronghold of Darfur, a region with a history of genocide and ethnic violence. The organization accused the forces and its allies of widespread rapes.
CNN on Tuesday published an investigative report of mass murder of refugees in El Geneina, a city of about 200,000 people in West Darfur.
“The Rapid Support Forces and allied militias appear responsible for a staggering number of rapes and other war crimes during their attack on El Geneina,” Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch, said in a blog post. “The UN Security Council should show those responsible for abuses that the world is watching by taking urgent steps to bring an end to these atrocities.”
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Thursday condemned indiscriminate shelling carried out by the army and paramilitary that was killing civilians in Nyala, a city of about a half-million people in South Darfur.
“Civilians should not pay the ultimate price for the warring parties’ unconscionable actions,” Miller said in a statement. “Every day this senseless conflict continues, more innocent civilians are killed, wounded, and left without homes, food, or livelihoods.”
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