The White House on Thursday announced that it would impose sanctions against key defense companies and people who “perpetuate violence” in Sudan, as the warring sides failed to abide by a ceasefire agreement in the northeastern African nation.
Visa restrictions would apply to officials from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and leaders from the former Sudanese government led by former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who are “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Sudan’s democratic transition, the US Department of State said.
US President Joe Biden on May 4 laid the groundwork for the penalties when he issued an executive order that expanded US authorities to respond to the violence and help bring an end to the conflict.
Photo: AFP
“These measures are intended to hold accountable those responsible for undermining the peace, security and stability of Sudan,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
Four companies were designated: Al Junaid Multi Activities Co Ltd, which is controlled by RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his brother, RSF Deputy Commander Abdul Rahim Dagalo; United Arab Emirates-based Tradive General Trading LLC, a front company controlled by RSF Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, who is also a Dagalo brother; Sudan’s largest defense company, Defense Industries System; and arms company Sudan Master Technology, which is linked to the SAF, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement.
Tradive has purchased vehicles for the RSF that have been retrofitted with machine guns and been used to patrol the streets of Sudan.
Al Junaid, also known as Algunade, operates 11 subsidiaries across multiple economic sectors, including the gold industry, and has been a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RFS.
The SAF-connected Defense Industries System has hundreds of subsidiaries that manufacture small arms, conventional weapons, ammunition and military vehicles.
The company uses a complex system to hide its ownership of these subsidiaries and to obtain favorable letters of credit from the Sudanese central bank, and frequently defaults on those loans, the Treasury department said.
“Through sanctions, we are cutting off key financial flows to both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, depriving them of resources needed to pay soldiers, rearm, resupply and wage war in Sudan,” US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said. “The United States stands on the side of civilians against those who perpetuate violence toward the people of Sudan.”
It remains unclear how the sanctions would affect either force’s financing or the trajectory of the conflict, now entering its seventh week.
The Biden administration said it is coordinating with the African Union, Saudi Arabia and others in the region, to press both parties to end the conflict.
The sanctions would need the support of other regional stakeholders, Khartoum-based think tank Confluence Advisory founder and director Kholood Khair said.
“The US was likely motivated to act because repeat violations are undermining its clout, globally,” Khair said.
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