US sanctions a leader of Sudan’s paramilitary group for fueling a brutal war
The United States has imposed sanctions on a senior leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for supplying weapons for the 17-month war that has killed more than 20,000 people.
CAIRO — The United States has sanctioned a senior leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for “leading efforts” to supply weapons for the 17-month war that has killed more than 20,000 people and devastated the northeast African country.
Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa controls UAE-based Tradive General Trading LLCa front company that imported vehicles into Sudan on behalf of the paramilitary RSF and retrofitted them with machine guns, the US Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
Algoney is the brother of RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in April 2023 in the capital Khartoum and has spread throughout the country.
The Treasury Department said Algoney’s actions directly contributed to those of RSF continued siege of El Fasher, the capital of the state of North Darfur.
“At a time when the United States, the United Nations, the African Union and others are advocating for peace, key figures on both sides – including Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa – continue to acquire weapons to facilitate attacks and other atrocities against their own citizens,” said Bradely T. Smith, acting undersecretary of the Treasury Department for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The sanctions against Algoney mean that all of its property and interests in the US or controlled by US citizens are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury Department. The sanctions also block any entities he directly or indirectly owns.
Last year the US imposed visa restrictions about officials of the Sudanese army and the RSF. The White House also said at the time that it would impose sanctions on key defense companies that the US says are perpetuating violence in Sudan.
More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes. The war was marked by atrocities, including mass rapes and ethnically motivated killings that the UN and international rights groups say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.