By Daphne Psaledakis, David Lewis and Nafisa Eltahir WASHINGTON/NAIROBI/CAIRO (Reuters) -The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The Biden administration has sanctioned the RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as well as businesses owned by the group in the UAE.View on euronews

The US has accused the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing genocide and imposed sanctions on its leader. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, was being punished for his role in "systematic" atrocities against the Sudanese people during the 20-month conflict.

The U.S. accusation of genocide against the RSF is an important act symbolically, albeit one unlikely to change behavior on the ground.

The United States determined on Tuesday that Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had "committed genocide" and imposed sanctions on the paramilitary group's leader.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has committed genocide in the country’s civil war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Tuesday.

Famine rages, more than 11 million people have been forced from their homes, 30 million people need humanitarian assistance and tens of thousands are dead in the current Sudan conflict

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, has formally accused the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of genocide, alleging that they have been killing civilians from specific ethnic groups. Sanctions were also imposed on the RSF leader,