CAIRO: The European Union imposed sanctions on a top leader of Sudan’s paramilitary group over “grave and ongoing atrocities” by his forces in the more than two-year war with the Sudanese army, including in the western Darfur region where they captured the army’s last stronghold last month.
The measures announced Thursday against Abdel-Rahim Hamdan Dagalo follow similar sanctions against the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group at war with the Sudanese army. The United States also imposed sanctions on Dagalo in September 2023, early on in the conflict.
Dagalo is the No. 2 in the paramilitary group and the brother of its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.
The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council said it imposed the measures against Abdel-Rahim Hamdan Dagalo over violations committed by his troops, including during last month’s seizure of el-Fasher, a key city in Darfur.
“The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the grave and ongoing atrocities perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, including following the seizure of the city of el-Fasher,” it said.
“This sends a signal that the international community will come after those who are responsible,” EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters during a news conference on Thursday.
There was no immediate reaction from the RSF, which had besieged el-Fasher for over 18 months before taking the city from the army and effectively seizing the entire Darfur region. The RSF attacks left hundreds dead and forced tens of thousands to flee to overcrowded camps.
The war between the RSF and the military began in 2023, when tensions erupted between the two former allies that were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 uprising. The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced 12 million. However, aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher.
“The situation is deteriorating sharply,” Kallas said of the war, adding that the fall of el-Fasher “opened another devastating chapter in this war.”
The EU said deliberate targeting of civilians, ethnically motivated killings, systematic sexual and gender-based violence, starvation as a weapon of war and denying aid access all constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The RSF did not address the sanctions in a statement on its Telegram channel on Friday but said it welcomes international efforts for a ceasefire while claiming the military was the “true obstacle to achieving peace.”
Earlier this month, the RSF had agreed to a humanitarian truce proposed by a US-led mediator group but the military said it would only agree to a truce when the RSF completely withdraws from civilian areas and disarms.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he plans to push for an end to the war in Sudan after being urged to take action by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The EU sanctions a Sudanese paramilitary leader after atrocities by his forces in Darfur
https://arab.news/4c4ps
The EU sanctions a Sudanese paramilitary leader after atrocities by his forces in Darfur
- The measures announced Thursday against Abdel-Rahim Hamdan Dagalo follow similar sanctions against the Rapid Support Forces
German parliament speaker visits Gaza
- Germany has been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters as the European power seeks to atone for the legacy of the Holocaust
BERLIN: The speaker of Germany’s lower house of parliament briefly visited the Israeli-controlled part of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the body told AFP.
Julia Kloeckner spent “about an hour in the part of Gaza controlled by Israeli army forces,” parliament said, becoming the first German official to visit the territory since Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 that sparked the devastating war.
Since the start of the conflict, Israel has drastically restricted access to the densely populated coastal strip.
In a statement shared by her office, Kloeckner said it was essential for politicians to have access to “reliable assessments of the situation” in Gaza.
“I expressly welcome the fact that Israel has now, for the first time, granted me, a parliamentary observer, access to the Gaza Strip,” she said.
However, she was only able to gain a “limited insight” into the situation on the ground during her trip, she said.
Kloeckner appealed to Israel to “continue on this path of openness” and emphasized that the so-called yellow line, which designates Israeli military zones inside the Gaza Strip, must “not become a permanent barrier.”
The German foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
Germany has been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters as the European power seeks to atone for the legacy of the Holocaust.
But in recent months, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has occasionally delivered sharp critiques of Israeli policy as German public opinion turns against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
In August, Germany imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel, which was lifted in November after the announcement of what has proved to be a fragile ceasefire for Gaza.
Merz visited Israel in December and reaffirmed Germany’s support.
But in a sign of lingering tension, Germany’s foreign ministry on Wednesday criticized Israeli plans to tighten control over the occupied West Bank as a step toward “de facto annexation.”
