{"id":20127748,"date":"2026-02-05T18:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20127748"},"modified":"2026-02-05T18:48:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:48:35","slug":"uk-hits-sudans-war-machine-with-new-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/uk-hits-sudans-war-machine-with-new-sanctions","title":{"rendered":"UK hits \u2018Sudan\u2019s war machine\u2019 with new sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The UK imposed new sanctions on six key figures fuelling Sudan\u2019s war from both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a statement issued today.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sanctions<\/a>\u00a0target Hussein Barsham, an RSF field commander accused of mass atrocities and ethnic violence in Darfur. They also target\u00a0Abu Agla Keikil<\/a>, an RSF defector and commander of the\u00a0Sudan Shield Forces<\/a>, who is now a senior SAF commander linked to\u00a0brutal attacks<\/a>\u00a0against the Kanabi farming communities in El Gezira. The sanctions further target Mustafa Ibrahim Abdel Nabi Mohamed, director of the UK-sanctioned\u00a0Alkhaleej Bank Co Ltd<\/a>, who is suspected of financing the RSF\u2019s military campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK sanction measures also further name Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, Mateo Andres Duque Botero and Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, accused of\u00a0recruiting former Colombian soldiers<\/a>\u00a0to fight for the RSF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measures take effect immediately and form part of the\u00a0UK\u2019s stated effort<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cdismantle Sudan\u2019s war machine\u201d, ramping up international pressure ahead of London\u2019s UN Security Council presidency later this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the sanctions after visiting the Sudan\u2013Chad border, where she met refugees who had fled the violence, including women and girls subjected to sexual assault. \u201cAt the\u00a0Sudan-Chad border<\/a>\u00a0this week, I met women and children who have suffered unimaginable violence, and barely escaped with their lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor their sake, and the millions of other civilians caught in the middle of this conflict, we urgently need a ceasefire, and safe access for humanitarian relief agencies to reach all those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper said accountability was central to the\u00a0UK\u2019s approach<\/a>. \u201cWe also need to ensure that there is a price to pay for the military commanders who have allowed these atrocities to take place, and the callous profiteers who have fuelled this conflict with the supply of mercenaries and weaponry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December, the FCDO added an additional \u00a321 million to support the relief effort, taking the UK contribution to \u00a3146 million and providing \u201clifesaving aid to more than 800,000 people,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK will prioritise Sudan during its UN Security Council presidency in February, pushing for humanitarian access, accountability, and international pressure to end the war, building on December 2025 sanctions against four RSF commanders.<\/p>\n