US sanctions Sudan junta leader El Burhan

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on Abdelfattah El Burhan, the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and chairperson of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council. This move follows the designation of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo to the sanctions list on January 7.

In a press release yesterday, the Treasury Department accused the SAF, under Burhan’s leadership, of deadly attacks on civilians, including airstrikes on protected sites such as schools, markets, and hospitals. The SAF has also been charged with deliberately denying humanitarian access and using food as a weapon of war.

OFAC’s designation, issued under Executive Order 14098, identifies Burhan as a foreign individual leading an entity that threatens Sudan’s peace, security, and stability.

In December 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that SAF members had committed war crimes. The US government has accused the SAF and RSF of creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, citing the declaration of famine in five areas of Sudan.

“The SAF has violated international humanitarian law and ignored commitments made in the 2023 Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan,” Blinken said in a press statement. “The SAF’s use of food deprivation as a tactic of war and its deliberate obstruction of emergency humanitarian aid have contributed to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

“El Burhan has also obstructed the advancement of peace, refusing to participate in international ceasefire talks in Switzerland in August 2024 and hindering the political transition to civilian government.”

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo echoed these sentiments. “Today’s action underscores our commitment to seeing this conflict end. The United States will continue to use our tools disrupt the flow of weapons into Sudan and hold leaders accountable for their blatant disregard of civilian lives,” he said in the press release.

Burhan, along with Hemedti, led the October 2021 military coup that overthrew Sudan’s civilian-led transitional government. “Since then, Burhan has opposed a return to civilian governance in Sudan and has refused to participate in international peace talks to end the fighting, choosing war over good-faith negotiation and de-escalation”, the Treasury stated.

Earlier this month, the US accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing genocide and imposed sanctions on its leader, RSF Commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo.

DIS sanctions

OFAC has also targeted Sudan’s Defense Industries System (DIS), the SAF’s main procurement arm, which has been under sanctions since June 2023. The latest sanctions target Ahmed Abdallah, a Sudanese-Ukrainian official at DIS, and Portex Trade Limited, a Hong Kong-based company controlled by Abdallah.

According to OFAC, since the DIS was sanctioned, it has sought to bypass restrictions by using private companies to procure arms. Abdallah, as Portex’s chief operating officer, coordinated the purchase of Iranian-made drones from an Azerbaijani defence company for delivery to Sudan. Both Abdallah and Portex have been designated for their roles in these activities.

As reported by Radio Dabanga in October last year, OFAC sanctioned Mirghani Idris Suleiman, director of the Sudanese Defence Industries System (DIS).