The British government announced on Friday the imposition of sanctions on four senior commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing them of committing atrocities and grave violations during the ongoing war with the Sudanese army. Among those targeted is Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the brother of the RSF’s commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemeti.
According to a statement from the UK Foreign Office, the sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans against the individuals.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “The atrocities in Sudan are so horrific that they scar the conscience of the world,” adding that the sanctions “strike directly at those whose hands are stained with blood.” She emphasized that overwhelming evidence of mass executions, starvation, and the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war “will not go unpunished.”
The statement identified the sanctioned individuals as follows:
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Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, RSF deputy commander and Hemeti’s brother, suspected of involvement in mass killings of civilians, ethnically motivated executions, systematic sexual violence including gang rape, abductions for ransom, arbitrary detention, and attacks on health facilities and humanitarian workers.
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Jedo Hamdan Ahmed, RSF commander in North Darfur, suspected of participating in mass killings, sexual violence, and attacks against medical and humanitarian personnel.
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Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as “Abu Lulu”, an RSF colonel suspected of orchestrating ethnically and religiously motivated attacks targeting civilians.
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Tijani Ibrahim Musa Mohamed, an RSF field commander in El-Fasher, believed to have been responsible for deliberate assaults on civilians during recent clashes.
The European Union had previously, in November, imposed similar sanctions on Abdul Rahim Dagalo as part of growing international pressure on Sudan’s warring factions.
The British move comes amid an escalating conflict that erupted on April 15, 2023, between Sudan’s armed forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary RSF, led by his former deputy, Hemeti. The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 12 million, both internally and across borders, leaving Sudan in what the United Nations calls “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minnawi, a key ally of the Sudanese army, welcomed the British sanctions, describing them as “an important step toward accountability for recent crimes and violations in Sudan.” In a post on social media, he urged that the sanctions be extended to include Hemeti himself, whom he labeled “the architect and direct instigator of the violence.”
Tensions have sharply escalated in recent weeks after the RSF seized El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, triggering reports of massacres, ethnically motivated violence, abductions, and sexual assaults, as described by survivors and eyewitnesses.
Earlier in the week, the United States imposed sanctions on a recruitment network — composed mainly of Colombian nationals accused of enlisting mercenaries to fight for the RSF in Sudan. Meanwhile, London announced £21 million (approximately $28 million) in additional emergency humanitarian aid for Sudan, bringing the UK’s total assistance since the start of the year to £146 million.
These developments follow a peace initiative proposed last November by the United States, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, calling for a three-month ceasefire followed by peace talks. Although the RSF initially accepted the plan, it soon launched a series of drone strikes on army-controlled areas.
The United Nations and several human rights organizations continue to accuse the RSF of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in areas under its control particularly in Darfur including killings, torture, sexual violence, rape, and enforced disappearances.
