Britain sanctions Sudanese commanders over weaponised rape
Commanders from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces face travel and asset freezes.
The United Kingdom has sanctioned 15 Sudanese military commanders, militia leaders and security officials from both sides of the ongoing civil war accused of committing war crimes during the fall of the city of el-Fasher.
Commanders from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces were sanctioned for sexual violence, torture and attacks on civilians. The measures include travel bans and asset freezes, with the wider aim of ensuring that “the horrors that took place at El Fasher will be known to the world”, the UK Foreign Office said.
The announcement came after the release of UK-funded reporting by the Centre for Information Resilience, which revealed a campaign of “systematic starvation and conflict-related sexual violence against civilians in Sudan”, the Foreign Office added.
The move comes one year after the fall of the city of el-Fasher, which became a focal point of Sudan’s war last year as civilians faced a prolonged siege, reported mass killings, widespread sexual violence and attacks on hospitals.