US imposes sanctions on Sudan's Abdelrahim Daglo over abuses

The US government on Wednesday imposed sanctions on top leaders of the Rapid Support Forces, one of the warring parties in Sudan, for atrocities against civilians.

The State Department said Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo and Abdul Rahman Juma had been designated for overseeing abuses including killings and abductions in Sudan's five-month war, which has displaced nearly 2 million people and killed more than 2,000.

Abdelrahman is the deputy leader of the RSF and the brother of rebel leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Juma, on the other hand, is the RSF general and commander of the West Darfur sector. The US Treasury Department is sanctioning him for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights. 

"According to credible sources, on 15 June 2023, RSF forces led by General Juma abducted and killed the Governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abbakar, and his brother. This act came just hours after Abbakar's public statements condemning the actions of the RSF.

"At the same time, the Department of the Treasury is imposing sanctions on senior RSF commander Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo for his association with RSF, whose members have committed human rights abuses against civilians in Sudan, including conflict-related sexual violence and killings based on ethnicity," the State Department said on Wednesday.

Khamis was shot dead in broad daylight, and both RSF and the Sudanese army issued statements accusing each other of the killing.

But the US said members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had committed atrocities and other abuses in Darfur, including ethnically-motivated killings, "targeted abuses against human rights activists and defenders, conflict-related sexual violence, and the looting and burning of communities".

The two will not be allowed to set foot on US soil or do business with US agencies, companies or nationals. 

This is the second time the US has imposed sanctions on leaders of the war in Sudan. In June, Washington sanctioned companies and individuals it said were fuelling the war in Sudan by helping protagonists access weapons and money through smuggling and other covert operations. Some of the companies were registered in the United Arab Emirates.

But the war that erupted on 15 April between the RSF and the SAF, once allies, has refused to die down, despite regional efforts at dialogue. Since last week, SAF leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has visited Egypt and South Sudan, his two perceived close allies, in a bid to shore up his legitimacy and isolate his rivals in the RSF.

But the US has warned that outside actors have helped fuel the war.

"We will not hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to impede the ability of the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to further prolong this war, and we will also use those tools to deter any actor from undermining the Sudanese people's aspirations for peace and civilian, democratic rule. 

"We will act to promote accountability for those responsible for atrocities and to seek justice for victims. The parties must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, hold accountable those responsible for atrocities and other abuses, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, and negotiate an end to the conflict."