Two generals from Sudan’s paramilitary RSF are sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council

A committee of the UN Security Council has punished two generals from Sudan’s militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for using violence and violating human rights to make the country less stable.

These are the first UN penalties in the current war in Sudan. The fighting started on April 15, 2023, when the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, fought over who was in charge.

The UNSC’s Sudan sanctions committee agreed on Friday to the US’s plan from the end of August to ban Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, who is in charge of operations for the RSF, from traveling to other countries and freeze his assets. Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla, who is in charge of West Darfur, is also in charge of operations.

Reuters reports that diplomats said Russia slowed down the move because it needed more time to think about the plan. The group works by agreement.

The US Treasury Department put sanctions on Mohamed and Ali Yagoub Gibril, who was in charge of Central Darfur for the group, in May.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week condemned reported attacks on civilians by the RSF as Britain said it would push for a UNSC resolution on the conflict.