Fresh round of US sanctions targets two Sudanese RSF commanders

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on two Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanders, Ali Yagoub and Osman Hamid, due to their leading roles in RSF attacks on North Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the US OFAC, Yagoub played an important role in the RSF attacks in North Darfur. He is currently leading RSF troops around El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and the last Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) stronghold in the region.

OFAC considers Yagoub a major perpetrator of actions or policies that threaten peace, security, and stability in Sudan.

The second target, Osman Hamid (known as Osman Operations), is a major general in the RSF and has made statements on behalf of the paramilitary group after significant victories. He plays an important role in operational planning within the RSF, according to the OFAC statement.

The RSF is designated by OFAC as “an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan”.

Under these sanctions, pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 14098, “all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.

“In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.”

OFAC linked the new round of sanctions to the attacks launched by the RSF on El Fasher earlier this month. The ensuing violence has “endangered nearly one million Sudanese civilians in the last major safe haven in Darfur, impeded humanitarian access, increased the risk of mass atrocities, and could undermine vital peace efforts”, the statement laments.

In a post on his X (formerly twitter) Page, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US will continue to use sanctions as a means to “impose consequences for an offensive on El Fasher, systemic violations of international humanitarian law, and other atrocities against the Sudanese people”.

As reported by Dabanga on Tuesday, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, warned that any party attacking El Fasher would be subject to direct and immediate sanctions. She echoed the OFAC statement in a post on X yesterday, adding that the US is “prepared to take further action against those who actively escalate this war”.

On June 1 2023, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on four companies affiliated with the SAF and the RSF.