The measures target senior commanders in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), as well as recruiters linked to the war. Those affected include Hussein Barsham, an RSF field commander accused of mass killings and forced displacement in Darfur; Abu Aqla Mohamed Kaikal, SAF military commander of the Sudan Shield Forces in Gezira; and Mustafa Ibrahim Abdel Nabi Mohamed, director of the UK-sanctioned al-Khaleej Bank and financial adviser to the RSF. 

Similarly, Colombians Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, Mateo Andres Duque Botero and Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra were listed for reportedly recruiting foreign fighters for the RSF.  

The sanctions were announced following UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s visit to the Sudanese border in Chad, where she met refugees, including women and girls who had been sexually assaulted, and humanitarian workers delivering food and medicine to millions displaced by the conflict. 

“Through these sanctions, we will seek to dismantle the war machine of those who perpetrate or profit from the brutal violence in Sudan, and we will send a message to every individual responsible for commanding these armies and committing these atrocities that they will one day be held to account,” Cooper said. 

“We need to ensure that there is a price to pay for the military commanders who have allowed these atrocities to take place, and the callous profiteers who have fuelled this conflict with the supply of mercenaries and weaponry.” 

The UK minister similarly urged an end to hostilities in Sudan, calling for a ceasefire and safe access for humanitarian agencies to reach civilians caught in the conflict. The fighting, which began in April 2023, erupted from a power struggle between SAF and RSF, spreading to large parts of the country. Since then, the war has triggered one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. 

“At the Sudan-Chad border this week, I met women and children who have suffered unimaginable violence and barely escaped with their lives. For their sake, and the millions of other civilians caught in the middle of this conflict, we urgently need a ceasefire, and safe access for humanitarian relief agencies to reach all those in need,” Cooper said. 

The new sanctions follow previous measures imposed in December 2025 against four RSF commanders accused of atrocities in the conflict. Those targeted then included Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF Deputy Leader and brother of RSF leader General Hemedti, and commanders Gedo Hamdan Ahmed, AL-Fateh Abdullah Idris and Tihani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed. By Bashir Mbuthia, The Eastleigh Voice