RSF leaders sanctioned by UN for ‘genocide’ atrocities

The UN Security Council has announced new sanctions on four leaders of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over atrocities committed in the western Sudanese city of el-Fashir, reports BBC News. The deputy commander, Abdul Dagalo and Brigadier General Al-Fateh Idris, who became known as the ‘Butcher of el-Fashir’, are among those proscribed. The others are RSF deputy commander Gedo Ahmed and field commander Tijani Ibrahim. The RSF's capture of the city in October was one of the most brutal chapters of Sudan's nearly three-year civil war. Last week, a UN fact-finding mission concluded that the violent takeover bore the hallmarks of a genocide. The RSF has admitted that ‘violations’ were committed in el-Fashir and says it is investigating them, but insists the scale of the atrocities has been exaggerated by its enemies. The UN said Dagalo, brother of RSF chief Mohamed Daglo, had overseen operations on the day the RSF captured el-Fashir, citing atrocities carried out by his forces including mass killings and ethnically targeted executions. This is the fourth time Dagalo has been sanctioned – following earlier designations by the US, the UK and the EU.

People Liberation Party party leader Martha Karua has challenged President William Ruto to address concerns over alleged irregularities in Kenya’s passport issuance, according to a report in the Kenyans. Karua's demands follows reports that a sanctioned Sudanese national, accused of funding the war in Sudan, was found in possession of a Kenyan passport. Karua questioned how Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Musa, brother to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo allegedly acquired Kenyan citizenship documents. She argues that the person in question has been seen posing for photos with the head of state, questioning whether the President was now selling Kenyan citizenship. Her concerns followed recent reports from the US Department of Treasury revealing that Musa held a Kenyan passport and was moving freely despite being under international sanctions. In a recent expose by The Standard newspaper, Musa moved freely across borders using three passports, two Sudanese and one Kenyan, and he often uses Kenya as a base. According to the expose, the Kenyan Government deactivated his passport hours before the revelation was aired, revealing a problematic acquisition process. Similarly, the document showed that over 20 Sudanese nationals were naturalised as Kenyan passport holders and bypassed regular biometric checks, and that some documents contained inconsistencies. Musa was sanctioned by the US Treasury in October 2024, before Canada and the European Union followed suit.