US Sanctions High-Ranking Leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces

Treasury Department Cites Responsibility for Civilian Massacres, Sexual Violence, Human Rights Abuses

September 6, 2023 (Washington DC) – Today, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, a high-ranking leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Dagalo was designated by The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) “for his leadership of an entity whose members have engaged in acts of violence and human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, ethnic killings, and use of sexual violence.”

Dagalo is the brother of RSF commander Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as “Hemedti.”

John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry, said: “The strategy to end Sudan’s destructive civil war is broken, in part due to the lack of leverage for the various mediation efforts. Imposing a widening circle of sanctions like the ones the U.S. Treasury Department issued today will provide the U.S. and other mediators the beginnings of influence over the calculations of the warring parties. But quick follow-up is required, sanctioning broader networks on both sides who stand to profit from the conflict and who are responsible for massive human rights abuses.”

Brian Adeba, Senior Policy Advisor at The Sentry, said: “Sanctioning a top leader of the Rapid Support Forces is a move other states should replicate to increase the pressure on the warring sides in the Sudan conflict and put an end to the ongoing violence and human suffering. If the European Union, Britain, and other countries impose similar measures on the key perpetrators of violence, the momentum for peace would be accelerated.”

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About The Sentry

The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy. Pull back the curtain on wars, mass atrocities, and other human rights abuses, and you’ll find grand corruption and unchecked greed. These tragedies persist because the perpetrators rarely face meaningful consequences. The Sentry aims to alter the warped incentive structures that continually undermine peace and good governance. Our investigations follow the money as it is laundered from war zones to financial centers around the world. We provide evidence and strategies for governments, banks, and law enforcement to hold the perpetrators and enablers of violence and corruption to account. These efforts provide new leverage for human rights, peace, and anti-corruption efforts. Learn more: www.TheSentry.org