JUBA – The United States will impose sanctions on the leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, over accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide, diplomats told Reuters on Tuesday.
The sanctions follow nearly two years after the paramilitary RSF launched attacks on Sudanese government and military institutions in the country’s capital Khartoum, sparking a brutal conflict in April 2023.
This war, one of the deadliest in Sudan’s history, has plunged the nation into a severe humanitarian crisis.
A Western diplomat said the evidence points to the RSF’s involvement in heinous crimes, including genocide in West Darfur.
The RSF has been widely condemned for human rights violations, including mass killings and targeting civilians, particularly in West Darfur, where atrocities were previously classified as ethnic cleansing.
The sanctions will reportedly target Hemedti personally, with measures including asset freezes and travel bans, the diplomats said.
The U.S. State Department and Treasury have yet to release an official statement confirming the sanctions.
