The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four additional individuals accused of fueling the conflict in Sudan, including a senior figure in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)
Those targeted include Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, brother of RSF leader Mohammed “Hemedti” Dagalo, who was identified as playing a central role in procuring weapons and other military equipment for the paramilitary group.
The measures were jointly proposed by the United Kingdom, the United States and France under the council’s 1591 sanctions regime. It was the second round of such sanctions in recent months.
Officials said Dagalo’s role in securing arms has directly supported RSF operations, including in El Fasher, where rights groups and U.N. experts have reported widespread atrocities.
A February report by the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan detailed grave abuses during the RSF’s siege of the city, including “systematic starvation, torture, killings, rape and deliberate ethnic targeting.”
The council also sanctioned three Colombian nationals — Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero and Mateo Andrés Duque Botero — for their alleged roles in recruiting former Colombian soldiers to fight in Sudan.
Evidence cited by U.N. officials, including videos and photographs, indicated that Colombian recruits provided tactical and technical support to the RSF. They reportedly served as infantry and artillery fighters, drone operators, vehicle drivers and trainers, with some accused of helping train child soldiers. The mercenaries were said to have taken part in fighting in several areas, including Khartoum, Omdurman, Kordofan and El Fasher.
U.K. Minister for Africa Jenny Chapman said the sanctions demonstrate international resolve to hold perpetrators accountable.
“We are cracking down on those who facilitate and profit from this conflict,” she said. “We are determined that all individuals responsible for these atrocities will be held to account.”
She added that the U.K. and its partners would continue efforts to push the warring parties toward negotiations and to improve humanitarian access.
The 1591 sanctions regime, established in 2005, imposes arms embargoes, travel bans and asset freezes on individuals and entities deemed to be obstructing the peace process in Sudan’s Darfur region. The latest sanctions were approved unanimously by the council’s sanctions committee.
In February, the U.K., France and the U.S. also secured sanctions against four RSF commanders linked to abuses in El Fasher, part of broader international efforts to curb violence in Sudan.
Sudan has been engulfed in a civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 2023.
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