The UK has imposed sanctions on four senior commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) suspected of involvement in mass killings and sexual violence against civilians in the city of El Fasher. The measures include asset freezes and travel bans, but the UK has held back from taking action against the RSF’s key backer, the United Arab Emirates, or its chief commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
British officials indicated they prefer to use private leverage with the UAE and Hemedti, but admitted there is little sign of a ceasefire in Sudan’s nearly three-year civil war. The war, which erupted in April 2023, has caused what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The RSF’s 18-month siege of El Fasher ended when the city fell on 26 October, with British MPs briefed that at least 60,000 people may have been killed.
Those sanctioned include Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF’s deputy leader and brother of Hemedti, along with three other commanders: Gedo Hamdan Ahmed, the RSF’s commander for North Darfur; Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, a brigadier general; and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed, a field commander. The UK Foreign Office said the individuals are suspected of “atrocities including mass killings, sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians in El Fasher”.
The UK also announced an additional £20 million in funding to help aid organisations reach 150,000 people with food, medical care and emergency shelter. Total UK aid commitments to Sudan this year have risen to £146 million. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The overwhelming evidence of heinous crimes – mass executions, starvation and the systematic and calculated use of rape as a weapon of war – cannot and will not go unpunished.”
The sanctions were welcomed by the UK’s Darfur diaspora, but there was disappointment that the UAE had escaped censure. Abdallah Abu Garda, chair of the Darfur Diaspora Association, said the sanctions are “a vital step toward justice” but stressed the need to also address the role of external backers. The UK is not joining the four-country group – the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt – leading diplomatic efforts, fearing it would pressure it to take sides.
