US Sanctions a Leader of Sudan’s Paramilitary Group for Fueling a Brutal War

FILE - Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe’s rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

4:38 AM EDT, October 9, 2024

CAIRO (AP) — The United States sanctioned a senior leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for “leading efforts” to supply weapons for the 17-month-long war, which has killed more than 20,000 people and wrecked the northeastern African country.

Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa controls the UAE-based Tradive General Trading LLC, a front company that imported vehicles to Sudan on behalf of the paramilitary RSF and retrofitted them with machine guns, the U.S. Department of Treasury said Tuesday.

Algoney is the brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

War between the Sudanese military and the RSF broke out in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and has spread across the country.

Treasury said that Algoney’s actions have directly contributed to RSF’s ongoing siege of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

“At a time when the United States, the United Nations, the African Union, and others are advocating for peace, key individuals on both sides — including Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa — continue to procure weapons to facilitate attacks and other atrocities against their own citizens,” said Bradely T. Smith, the acting undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The sanctions against Algoney means that all his properties and interests in the U.S. or in control of U.S. citizens are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury Department. The sanctions also block any entities that he owns directly or indirectly.

Last year, the U.S. imposed visa restrictions on officials from the Sudanese army and the RSF. The White House at the time also said that it will impose sanctions against key defense companies who the U.S. said perpetuate violence in Sudan.

More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes. The war has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.