SAF procurement chief latest hit by US sanctions
SAF procurement chief Mirghani Idris Suleiman was sanctioned by the US treasury yesterday (File photo: SUNA / Social media)
Yesterday, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Mirghani Idris Suleiman, director of the Sudanese Defence Industries System (DIS). Suleiman is accused of leading the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in acquiring weapons for use in their ongoing conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), thereby disrupting the peace process.
OFAC stated that Suleiman has been “at the centre of weapons deals that have fuelled the brutality and scale of the war” through his position as Director General of the DIS, the primary body responsible for producing and procuring weapons for the SAF.
The sanctions against Suleiman follow previous actions by OFAC, which on June 1, 2023, sanctioned the DIS and three other companies affiliated with the SAF and RSF, citing their responsibility for, complicity in, or direct or indirect engagement in actions threatening Sudan’s peace, security, and stability. The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on the DIS in July 2023, followed by the European Union in January 2024.
According to the US Treasury, “since the beginning of the war, the SAF has prioritised weapons acquisition, including Iranian drones and a port-for-weapons deal with Russia, choosing to expand the conflict rather than end it through good-faith negotiations”. Arms and diplomatic support from Iran and Russia have “emboldened the SAF and lessened their interest in deescalating the conflict”, the statement continues.
“Today’s action underscores the essential role that key individuals like Mirghani Idris Suleiman have played in procuring weapons, perpetuating violence, and prolonging the fighting in Sudan,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith.
Earlier this month, the US Treasury sanctioned the RSF procurement director, Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Musa, the younger brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, for “leading efforts to supply weapons to continue the war in Sudan”.
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