The UK has today (12 December) sanctioned senior commanders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) suspected of heinous violence in El Fasher, Sudan, including mass killings, systematic sexual violence, and deliberate attacks on civilians.
Those targeted include Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF Deputy Leader and brother of RSF leader General Hemedti, as well as three other commanders who are suspected of involvement in these crimes, who all now face asset freezes and travel bans.
Three other senior RSF officers will also now face asset freezes and travel bans to the U.K.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the sanctions sent a message that atrocities “cannot and will not go unpunished.”
The RSF’s actions in El Fasher are not random: they are part of a deliberate strategy to terrorise populations and seize control through fear and violence. The impact of their actions is visible from space. Satellite images of El Fasher show blood-stained sand, clusters of bodies, and evidence of mass graves where victims have been burned and buried. There needs to be accountability for these actions, and urgent steps taken to avoid this happening again,” a press release from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office reads in part. “UK sanctioning of senior RSF commanders suspected of mass killings and sexual violence in El Fasher sends a clear message that those who commit atrocities will be held to account. This reflects the UK’s determination to prevent further atrocities.”
While the U.K. has targeted other RSF figures before, the paramilitary group’s recent sharing of footage of their own alleged crimes has made it easier to establish the basis for sanctions.
The penalties announced Friday coincide with a fresh £21 million aid package intended to provide food, clean water, healthcare, and protection for tens of thousands caught in what the U.K. government has termed the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The administration in London has been under pressure from lawmakers to do more to stop the bloodshed.
The U.K.’s action follows the U.S. decision this week to sanction a network it says is recruiting former Colombian soldiers to fight in Sudan’s civil war, while the European Union has also targeted RSF leadership for alleged crimes in Darfur.
Sudan has been locked in a civil war for two and a half years, with the Sudanese Armed Forces pitted against the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, which international institutions have accused the United Arab Emirates of backing.
Since becoming foreign secretary, Cooper has sought to place particular emphasis on the conflict in Sudan and has discussed it with her U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio on several occasions.
Donald Trump signaled a new interest in ending the violence in Sudan after meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in November, but it’s not yet clear if that will be sustained.
Background
The Sanctioned Individuals are:
- Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo – Deputy Leader of the RSF, and brother of RSF leader, General Hemedti. There are reasonable grounds to suspect he is or has been implicated in mass killings of civilians, ethnically targeted executions, systematic sexual violence, including gang rape, abductions for ransom, arbitrary detentions, and attacks on health facilities and humanitarian workers.
- Gedo Hamdan Ahmed – RSF Commander for North Darfur. There are reasonable grounds to suspect he is or has been involved in mass killings, sexual violence, abductions, and attacks on medical and humanitarian personnel.
- Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris – Brigadier General of the RSF. There are reasonable grounds to suspect he is or has been responsible for violence against individuals based on ethnicity and religion, and the deliberate targeting of civilians.
- Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed – RSF Field Commander. There are reasonable grounds to suspect he is or has been responsible for the deliberate targeting of civilians in El Fasher