US Lawmakers Press Secretary of State to Explain Allowing Militia Leader to Enter and Remain in the US
Members of the US Senate have demanded that Secretary of State Marco Rubio explain why he granted a visa to a leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.
Politico, a publication specializing in national security affairs, reported that Senator Shaheen, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Treasury Secretary Bassent for clarification regarding “the visit of a senior commander in the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces, a militia accused of committing serious human rights abuses in Sudan, to the country.”
The newspaper added that the militia leader was seen freely strolling the streets of downtown Washington, D.C., in late October while the Rapid Support Forces militia was committing a massacre in El Fasher, Darfur, according to the two senators.
According to the lawmakers, Alqouni Hamdan Dagalo Musa, the brother of the notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, was in Washington in mid-October for a meeting with representatives of the Quartet—comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and the United States—to discuss ways to stabilize Sudan.
The newspaper adds that after the Quartet meeting concluded, Alqouni—who was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2024 for his role in perpetrating violence in Sudan—remained in the U.S. capital.
In two separate letters to the three senior officials, Shaheen and Booker wrote that Alqouni was photographed “talking to people at the Waldorf Astoria, a five-star hotel, and walking the streets of Washington, D.C.” later that month.
The newspaper reported that the two U.S. congressmen are demanding answers to a series of questions from lawmakers about “how Alqouni was able to remain in the United States, including whether any exceptions were granted for his visit and whether any foreign governments facilitated his travel in any way.” Shapes.