Washington DC - Horrific massacres by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan have sparked renewed calls for congressional action to stop the US from enabling the atrocities.

"The UAE needs to be held accountable for its arming of the genocidal RSF. That's why I have introduced my Stand Up for Sudan Act that would block sales to the UAE until they stop sending weapons to the RSF," Representative Sara Jacobs of California posted on X on Wednesday.

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland issued a similar call for the legislation's passage, writing, "As we witness horrific scenes in El-Fasher, the UAE continues arming the RSF – which the US has determined is committing genocide."

"Enough. We must pass my bill to block arms sales to the UAE until it stops fueling the RSF's war crimes in Sudan," he added.

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The Stand Up for Sudan Act would prohibit US arms sales to the UAE until it stops giving material support to the RSF in Sudan.

Renewed demands for the legislation's passage come after the RSF seized el-Fasher, capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, after 18 months of brutal siege.

Graphic videos shared online showed RSF fighters torturing and killing people. The World Health Organization said the paramilitaries had slaughtered 460 people at a hospital, while the Sudan Doctors' Network said the fighters had "cold bloodedly killed everyone they found inside the Saudi Hospital, including patients, their companions, and anyone else present."

The UAE – which has been authorized to receive billions of dollars' worth of military equipment from the US – is accused of arming and funding the RSF, whose leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, allegedly smuggles gold into the UAE.

Sudan's government filed a case before the International Court of Justice accusing the UAE of complicity in genocide, but the court dismissed the case.

The civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF has been ongoing since April 2023.

The RSF, formed in 2013, grew out of Janjaweed militias whose actions in Darfur in the early 2000s were declared a genocide by the US. The paramilitaries are accused of targeting Sudan's non-Arab population in ethnically motivated attacks.

The UN has called the situation in Sudan the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 150,000 people dead and around 12 million forcibly displaced amid devastating famine.

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"The images of civilians, including those fleeing El Fasher, being targeted reveal a horrifying truth: the Rapid Support Forces feel free to carry out mass atrocities with little fear of consequences. The world needs to act to protect civilians from more heinous crimes," Human Rights Watch Sudan researcher Mohamed Osman said in a statement.

In a bid to prevent the atrocities, the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on members of Congress to support maximum sanctions on the RSF and an arms embargo on the UAE.

"Sudan is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis and a genocide. Tens of thousands dead. 12 million displaced," posted Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

"The images of the RSF seizing El Fasher are horrific. The UAE and other arms dealers to the RSF and RSF-aligned militias must be held accountable."

Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan echoed, "I am horrified by the RSF's mass killings of civilians in El Fasher, Sudan. We must do everything in our power to stop this genocide, including cutting off all weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates who are arming and funding this ethnic cleansing."