UK Sanctions 15 Sudan Commanders Over Rape

Sudan War

Published Monday, 26 October, 8:45 a.m. ET (2:45 p.m. Port Sudan, the Red Sea city that serves as Sudan’s wartime seat) · Source: UK Foreign Office, UK Sanctions Notice

A year after the fall of El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur, Britain has gone after the men it says ran the rapes. On Monday, 26 October 2026, the UK named 15 commanders, militia leaders and officials from both sides of the Sudan war and froze their assets.

The list covers the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that took El Fasher, and the Sudanese army (SAF) that fights it. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) also banned them from entering Britain.

Why the UK Sanctioned Both Sides

The FCDO says the 15 are suspected of atrocities including conflict-related sexual violence. It points to the fall of El Fasher, the North Darfur capital that the RSF seized in October 2025 after an 18-month siege.

The move follows new reporting by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a UK-funded investigations group. The FCDO says CIR reporting describes women and girls abducted, repeatedly raped and held in conditions amounting to sexual slavery.

Who Is on the List

Hussein Abo Jalak, an RSF commander, is linked to the campaign of violence against civilians in El Fasher. Khademallah Khashmin Herika, a major who leads the RSF’s women’s unit, called the “Female Element”, is accused of promoting rape and sexual violence in El Fasher and in Garni, a town in North Darfur.

Two RSF colonels, Abdelbagi Dahab Talbo and Mustafa Abdullah Ahmed Shenibat, are tied to the April 2025 takeover of Zamzam camp, a huge shelter for displaced people near El Fasher. Abbas Khater Bakhit, an RSF lieutenant colonel, is accused of directing or taking part in torture of detainees at the Al-Mina Al-Bari detention centre.

The army side is named too. Awad Al-Karim Ali Saeed, a major general, commanded the army’s 1st Infantry Division in Gezira State, the region around Wad Madani, and Siddiq Ali Wad Al-Basha commanded the Abdullah Jamaa Battalion, accused of rape and ethnic violence when Wad Madani, a key Gezira city, was retaken.

What the Sanctions Do

Each person faces an asset freeze, a travel ban and a director disqualification, which bars them from running UK companies. For almost all of them the UK cites “reasonable grounds to suspect”, a lower bar than a court verdict.

Jersey, the self-governing Channel Island, said the freeze took effect there at once. Its banks must freeze any funds they hold for the 15 without notice, and failure to comply is a crime.

The Money Behind the Sanctions

London is also giving £5 million (about US$6.7 million at about US$1.335 per pound, RT market data, Monday) for survivors, covering reproductive health care, counselling and safe spaces. A separate £10 million (about US$13.4 million) goes to water, sanitation and health services around Tawila, a town hosting displaced people in North Darfur, and in El Obeid, a city in North Kordofan.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said rape and starvation “are still being weaponised against the people of Sudan”. The UK says these are its sixth sanctions round on Sudan’s conflict, after five earlier ones.

What It Means for US Readers

American banks and companies with Sudan exposure now have 15 more names to check, especially if they use UK-based banking or insurance. Washington keeps its own sanctions lists, and these designations are not automatically US ones.

The list also shows London blaming both fighting sides rather than one. The UK warns that El Niño, a climate pattern that can worsen drought, may deepen the crisis, and says whether famine takes hold is in the hands of the RSF and the army.

What Is Not Known

We found no public response from the RSF or the army at the time of writing, and we know of no conviction of anyone on the list. It is unclear whether other governments will copy the designations, or how much any of the 15 holds in UK reach.

For more on the siege and its victims, see our report on how Amnesty International accused the militia of torture in El Fasher.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a UK sanction mean the commanders are guilty?

No. For almost all of them the UK cites “reasonable grounds to suspect”, which is lower than a criminal standard. It freezes assets and bans travel without a trial.

How much is Britain giving to Sudan?

£5 million (about US$6.7 million) for survivors of sexual violence and £10 million (about US$13.4 million) for humanitarian aid, £15 million (about US$20 million) in all.

Sources: UK Foreign Office announcement; UK Sanctions Notice, Sudan, 26 October 2026; Government of Jersey sanctions notice.

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