The United States has imposed sanctions on leaders of the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.
On Wednesday, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Ali Yagoub Gibril and Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed of the RSF pursuant to Executive Order 14098.
The EO authorizes the government to seize assets of persons and entities involved in destabilizing activities in Sudan.
According to OFAC, Gibril commands the RSF troops in Central and North Darfur, while Hamid is an RSF major general instrumental in the group’s operational planning.
“While the Sudanese people continue to demand an end to this conflict, these commanders have been focused on expanding to new fronts and battling for control of more territory,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
U.S. lawmakers have been calling on the White House to take action against the RSF and its leaders.
In April, senators wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden to recognize members of the paramilitary group as violators of human rights. The letter also listed down human rights abuses reported from Sudan, such as extrajudicial killings.
The present war in Sudan between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces broke out in April 2023.