The EU sanctions a Sudanese paramilitary leader after atrocities by his forces in Darfur

CAIRO: The European Union imposed sanctions on a top leader of Sudan’s paramilitary group over “grave and ongoing atrocities” by his forces in the more than two-year war with the Sudanese army, including in the western Darfur region where they captured the army’s last stronghold last month.

The measures announced Thursday against Abdel-Rahim Hamdan Dagalo follow similar sanctions against the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group at war with the Sudanese army. The United States also imposed sanctions on Dagalo in September 2023, early on in the conflict.

Dagalo is the No. 2 in the paramilitary group and the brother of its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.

The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council said it imposed the measures against Abdel-Rahim Hamdan Dagalo over violations committed by his troops, including during last month’s seizure of el-Fasher, a key city in Darfur.

“The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the grave and ongoing atrocities perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, including following the seizure of the city of el-Fasher,” it said.