(CN) — The United States announced sanctions Wednesday on two Sudanese paramilitary leaders for their group's alleged "serious and extensive rights abuses," while pledging nearly $163 million in additional aid to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the country's ongoing war.
Sudan has been in a state of worsening civil war since fighting broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, derailing a Western-brokered transition to democracy after decades of military and authoritarian rule.
In response to RSF abuses, the U.S. imposed sanctions on two of the group's senior commanders.
General Abdul Rahman Juma, sector commander for West Darfur, was sanctioned for the kidnapping and June 15 murder of the state’s governor, Khamis Abdullah Abakar, and his brother.
A senior commander, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, was sanctioned for his role in conflict-related sexual violence and ethnic killings. He is the brother of RSF's leader.
Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the actions show the U.S. is will “hold accountable those responsible for serious and extensive human rights abuses in Sudan.”
“The United States urges both sides of the conflict to cease the hostilities and violence perpetuating Sudan’s dire humanitarian crisis,” Nelson said in a press release.
Last week, RSF leader Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, called for “a comprehensive political solution” to “address the root causes of Sudan's wars through a broad and inclusive dialogue involving all civil stakeholders, and be based on building a new Sudan founded on democracy, diversity, tolerance and genuine peace.”
Thousands have been killed in the conflict, with the State Department estimating that 3.6 million people have been displaced inside Sudan and more than 1 million have fled to neighboring countries.
Both sides have been widely condemned for war crimes, sexual assaults and ethnic violence, but the RSF has faced consistent outrage for actions in West Darfur, a region with a history of genocide and ethnic violence controlled by the paramilitary.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the RSF of “ethnically motivated killings, targeted abuses against human rights activists and defenders, conflict-related sexual violence, and looting and burning of communities.”
“We will act to promote accountability for those responsible for atrocities and to pursue justice for the victims,” he said in a statement. “The parties must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, hold accountable those responsible for atrocities or other abuses, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and negotiate an end to the conflict.”
Wednesday’s aid announcement builds on the $245 million that the U.S. committed in May for Sudan and its neighbors in Africa.
Nearly $103 million will be distributed by the State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration, primarily to multilateral organizations in the area, which are entities established by more than one country to work on a common topic. An additional $60 million will come from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, announced the aid during a visit to Chad.
“We urge the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to end the bloodshed and the suffering of the Sudanese people,” the State Department said in a press release. “There is no military solution to this conflict.”
Funding will support food assistance, emergency shelter, access to health care and other needs for refugees. It is targeted to Sudan, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, a set of countries that received more than $4.4 billion in combined aid in fiscal 2022.
Sudan, a country of about 45 million people, received roughly $801.3 million last fiscal year, which was the seventh most of any country on the continent and accounted for about 5% of U.S. aid for Africa.
The State Department this week declined a Courthouse News request for an interview about the conflict and U.S. efforts to end the violence.
The RSF leader claimed his group was forced into a conflict “that it did not seek” and which occurred “much to its dismay.”
“Clearly, armed conflict is not the optimal solution for addressing the issues of nation-building and the establishment of democratic institutions,” Hemedti wrote Aug. 27 on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
“Our insistence on ending the confrontation encompasses our insistence that any settlement implemented must set the country on the path to a full civilian rule based on democratic norms and an institutional framework that fully represents the country’s ethnic diversity," the leader said.
Follow @TheNolanStout
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
