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The United States has announced new sanctions against three senior commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over their alleged roles in war crimes.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: Back in April 2023, a civil war erupted in Sudan following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), once allied groups that had a falling out over plans to integrate the RSF into the SAF. The SAF, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, claims it is defending the country’s sovereignty and constitutional order, while the RSF, under Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, argues it is fighting to dismantle military dominance and establish civilian rule. Both sides have been widely accused of committing atrocities, including ethnic cleansing, sexual violence, and attacks on civilians. The conflict has also drawn in regional actors, with Sudan’s government recently accusing the United Arab Emirates of covertly supporting the RSF by supplying arms and hiring foreign mercenaries, which the UAE has denied. Other neighboring countries have been suspected of backing different factions to serve their own strategic interests.

What’s going on now: In a notable development, the US Treasury announced sanctions targeting Abu Lulu, Abu Shouk, and Al-Zeer Salem for their roles in the Rapid Support Forces’ 18-month siege and capture of El-Fasher. The Treasury Department, through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), accused RSF forces under their leadership of carrying out “a horrific campaign of ethnic killings, torture, starvation, and sexual violence.” Brig. Gen. Elfateh Abdullah Idris Adam, known as Abu Lulu, was singled out for allegedly personally participating in atrocities. US officials said he filmed himself killing unarmed civilians and bragged about killing thousands, interrogated detainees about their tribal affiliations, forced them to chant pro-RSF slogans, and in some cases threatened them with rape before executing them at close range.

The Treasury Department also linked him to the March 2024 execution of captured SAF personnel at the Al-Jili oil refinery north of Khartoum, adding that although the RSF claimed to have arrested him, the detention was likely staged to distance the group from the abuses.

Maj. Gen. Gedo Hamdan Ahmed Mohamed, known as Abu Shouk, who has served as RSF commander in North Darfur since 2021, and field commander Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed, known as Al-Zeer Salem, were sanctioned for overseeing forces involved in the siege and final assault on El-Fasher. The Treasury Department said fighters under their command were responsible for mass killings, abductions, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence, and noted that both men were filmed at an abandoned SAF base after the city fell, directly tying them to operations there.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “The United States calls on the Rapid Support Forces to commit to a humanitarian ceasefire immediately. We will not tolerate this ongoing campaign of terror and senseless killing in Sudan.” He added, “Without a swift end, Sudan’s civil war risks further destabilizing the region, creating conditions for terrorist groups to grow and threaten the safety and interests of the United States.”