By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The United States on Tuesday announced sanctions against a senior leader in war-torn Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for his role in obtaining weapons for the paramilitary organization.
Heritage Times HT recalls that tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced since war broke out in April 2023 between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary RSF, after their head generals disagreed on power sharing.
Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa was sanctioned “for his involvement in RSF efforts to procure weapons and other military materiel that have enabled the RSF’s ongoing operations in Sudan,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
His actions have fueled war in Sudan “and brutal RSF atrocities against civilians, which have included war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing,” Miller said.
The US Treasury said that as a result of such sanctions “all property and interests in property of the designated persons… that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported.”
The United States has led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting in Sudan but has seen limited success and leverage, with RSF commanders unlikely to hold major assets in the West that would be affected by sanctions.
The UN had last month raised concern that millions of women in the country live under the threat of gender-based violence.
At least 600,000 pregnant women live in uncertainty as health facilities in the country have seriously deteriorated in the war that last lasted for 17 months.
