The UK has sanctioned 15 senior commanders from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), saying they are suspected of sexual violence during the siege and takeover of El Fasher. The measures, announced on the first anniversary of the city’s fall, include travel bans and asset freezes.
The Foreign Office said it hoped the action would ensure that “the horrors that took place at El Fasher will be known to the world”. The sanctions target, among others, RSF colonel Hussein Abu Jalak, who has been linked to atrocities during the siege, and Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, also known as “Al-Qubba”, identified as playing a prominent role in the attack.
During the RSF takeover, as many as 10,000 people are believed to have been killed over two days. A further 40,000 people remain unaccounted for, according to the information cited in the report. The killings followed an 18-month siege that left civilians facing severe food shortages; hundreds of thousands were forced to survive on animal feed.
Fewer than 70,000 people are believed to remain in El Fasher, down from a prewar population of more than 1 million. Testimony from inside the city describes routine detention, torture and unlawful killings.
A statement from the Coalition on Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan said victims would not be forgotten and pledged to continue seeking accountability. Sudan’s wider conflict has forced 14 million people from their homes and has increasingly involved drone warfare, with recent RSF strikes causing power outages across eastern Sudan, the report said.
Sources: The Guardian World.