The European Union has imposed sanctions on Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, the second-in-command of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accused of atrocities following the fall of the town of Al-Fashir.
EU foreign ministers agreed on the sanctions during a meeting in Brussels.
The move “sends a signal that the international community will pursue those responsible,” according to EU High Representative Kaja Kallas.
The EU has condemned the “serious and ongoing atrocities” committed by the RSF in Sudan. According to Kallas, the capture of Al-Fashir - the main town in the western region of Darfur - by the group “opens a new disastrous chapter in this war.”
Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, the brother of RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo, is currently the only target of these sanctions. Kallas noted that the ministers agreed that more needed to be done to end the conflict.
Last month, the RSF seized Al-Fashir, previously the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in Darfur. Reports have since emerged of deliberate attacks on civilians, ethnically motivated killings, systematic sexual violence, and starvation.
The war in Sudan is considered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. For over two years, the country has been engulfed in conflict between the forces of de facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF. Tens of thousands have been killed, and millions have been displaced.
The EU has called on all parties to resume ceasefire negotiations. Kallas expressed hope that the United States, which announced a Sudan initiative on Wednesday, can achieve concrete progress.
