UK Freezes Assets of 15 Sudanese Figures Over El-Fasher Crimes

Britain moved against 15 Sudanese military and militia figures on Monday, imposing travel bans and freezing their assets over accusations of war crimes committed during the fall of el-Fasher. The measures name people from both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The UK Foreign Office said the sanctions covered sexual violence, torture and attacks on civilians. The department said the aim was to ensure that "the horrors that took place at El Fasher will be known to the world". The action followed the release of reporting funded by the UK through the Centre for Information Resilience, which documented what the Foreign Office described as a campaign of systematic starvation and conflict-related sexual violence against civilians in Sudan.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said perpetrators of crimes against humanity "must be held accountable and support from all external backers to the warring parties must end". He also said, "The war in Sudan has created a humanitarian catastrophe," and that UK-funded investigations a year on from the events in el-Fasher showed that rape and starvation are still being weaponised against people in Sudan.

The sanctions name Hussein Abu Jalak, an RSF colonel linked to atrocities during the siege of el-Fasher, and Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as al-Qubba, who was identified as present and playing a prominent role in besieging and attacking the city. The wider list covers 15 military commanders, militia leaders and security officials from both sides of the war.

The UK has allocated five million pounds, or $6.6m, to support survivors of sexual violence in Sudan, and 10 million pounds, or $13.3m, in humanitarian aid. Amnesty International reports that tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and 14 million people displaced since the conflict began in April 2023.