The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Friday against two generals from Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for their roles in a brutal conflict against the Sudanese military, marked by ethnic violence and alleged atrocities.
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 when longstanding tensions between military and paramilitary factions ignited in Khartoum, spreading across regions, including Darfur. The UN reports over 14,000 fatalities and 33,000 injuries, warning the nation teeters on the brink of famine.
The UN sanctions committee blacklisted Maj. Gen. Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, RSF’s operations chief, and Maj. Gen. Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla, RSF commander in West Darfur, citing threats to Sudan’s peace and stability and involvement in violence and human rights abuses, according to a statement from Britain’s UN Mission.
The sanctions mandate asset freezes and travel bans for the generals. The U.S. Treasury had previously sanctioned both, blocking their assets in the U.S. and banning financial transactions.
Darfur’s recent atrocities recall the region’s dark history from two decades ago, when Janjaweed militias, now the RSF, were implicated in genocide and war crimes against Central and East African communities. Up to 300,000 people were killed, and 2.7 million displaced. In January, the International Criminal Court prosecutor warned that both military and paramilitary forces in Darfur might be committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In May, Human Rights Watch reported on RSF-led ethnic cleansing of non-Arab groups in Darfur, particularly targeting the Masalit community in El Geneina, West Darfur. The report, titled The Massalit Will Not Come Home: Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity in El Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan, details torture, mass rape, and looting.
The RSF now controls four of Darfur’s five state capitals and is intensifying efforts to capture El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, in its campaign for dominance.
Source: Arab News
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
