UK sanctions 15 Sudan commanders over El Fasher atrocities, pledges £15m

Britain has sanctioned 15 senior commanders from Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese Armed Forces, imposing travel bans and asset freezes on officers suspected of atrocities including conflict-related sexual violence during the siege of El Fasher.

Among those designated are Hussein Abu Jalak, an RSF colonel linked to atrocities during the siege, and Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as Al-Qubba, identified as playing a prominent role in besieging and attacking the city.

The announcement marks one year since El Fasher fell to the RSF following an eighteen-month siege that, UK-funded reporting by the Centre for Information Resilience shows, involved systematic starvation and sexual violence by both warring parties.

Alongside the sanctions, the UK is allocating £5 million to support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, funding sexual and reproductive healthcare, maternal health services, psychosocial support, and safe spaces for women and girls. A separate £10 million package will support the broader humanitarian response, including clean water and sanitation in displacement sites around Tawila and essential services in El Obeid.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said rape and starvation were still being weaponised against Sudan's population, adding that perpetrators must be held accountable and that external backing for both warring parties must end.

The UK also warned that El Niño could worsen an already critical situation, but said whether famine takes hold depended on whether the RSF and SAF stopped attacking aid convoys.