EU foreign ministers on Thursday approved sanctions against Abdelrahim Dagalo, deputy commander of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in Sudan, which has been accused of human rights abuses.
“This sends a signal that the international community will come after those who are responsible,” said the EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas.
The listing was announced in the EU's official journal, which said the bloc had made “strong condemnation of the continuous fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and their respective affiliated militias” its position in late 2023.
The listing added the UN panel of experts on Sudan had identified Mr Dagalo in January 2024 as having “played a pivotal role in the RSF campaign in Darfur, personally supervising the military operations in the five states [of Darfur], since October [2023]”.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council said that Mr Dagalo owned a holding company with his two sons that has been listed by the EU for providing weapons to the RSF. He also “ordered the killing and execution of civilians and led RSF actions against civilians in El Fasher” in October.
“Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo is therefore responsible for directing acts in Sudan that constitute serious human rights violations or abuses or violations of international humanitarian law. He is also responsible for actions that threaten the peace, stability or security of Sudan,” the Council said.
The RSF's actions in the city of El Fasher last month have triggered international outrage. As it took over the city, which is in the Darfur region, videos emerged of people being shot in the streets, while reports said residents were attacked by drones and crushed by lorries.
As he arrived at the Brussels meeting with his EU counterparts, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that he backed the sanctions. EU sanctions consist of a ban on travel to the bloc and the seizure of any assets held there.
“I propose today that we place under sanctions the number two of the Rapid Support Forces,” Mr Barrot said. “Such atrocities cannot go unpunished.”
The conflict erupted in 2023 amid a power struggle between the SAF and the RSF, whose recent takeover of El Fasher, one of Sudan's largest cities, has raised grave concerns about mass killings. The war has created what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis, at a time when global aid budgets are shrinking.
Both the RSF and Sudanese army have been accused of committing atrocities during the fighting.
The US President Donald Trump vowed to work to end the war after a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Wednesday in Washington.
“His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” Mr Trump said. “It was not on my charts to be involved in. I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control. But I just see how important that is to you, and to a lot of your friends in the room, Sudan. And we're going to start working on Sudan.”
Earlier in the week, the UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain plans to introduce sanctions relating to human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, stressing the need for sustained efforts to secure a ceasefire.
“The UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, who has just visited the area, has described it as, 'the epicentre of suffering in the world', and he is right,” she told MPs. “Over 30 million people need life-saving aid.
“The RSF still refuses safe passage to aid organisations around El Fasher. The Sudanese Armed Forces are bringing in new restrictions that stand to hinder aid. Both sides must allow unhindered passage for humanitarian workers, supplies and trapped civilians.”
