The White House on Thursday announced that it would impose sanctions against key defense companies and people who “perpetuate violence” in Sudan, as the warring sides failed to abide by a ceasefire agreement in the northeastern African nation.
Visa restrictions would apply to officials from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and leaders from the former Sudanese government led by former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who are “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Sudan’s democratic transition, the US Department of State said.
US President Joe Biden on May 4 laid the groundwork for the penalties when he issued an executive order that expanded US authorities to respond to the violence and help bring an end to the conflict.
Photo: AFP
“These measures are intended to hold accountable those responsible for undermining the peace, security and stability of Sudan,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
Four companies were designated: Al Junaid Multi Activities Co Ltd, which is controlled by RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his brother, RSF Deputy Commander Abdul Rahim Dagalo; United Arab Emirates-based Tradive General Trading LLC, a front company controlled by RSF Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, who is also a Dagalo brother; Sudan’s largest defense company, Defense Industries System; and arms company Sudan Master Technology, which is linked to the SAF, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement.
Tradive has purchased vehicles for the RSF that have been retrofitted with machine guns and been used to patrol the streets of Sudan.
Al Junaid, also known as Algunade, operates 11 subsidiaries across multiple economic sectors, including the gold industry, and has been a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RFS.
The SAF-connected Defense Industries System has hundreds of subsidiaries that manufacture small arms, conventional weapons, ammunition and military vehicles.
The company uses a complex system to hide its ownership of these subsidiaries and to obtain favorable letters of credit from the Sudanese central bank, and frequently defaults on those loans, the Treasury department said.
“Through sanctions, we are cutting off key financial flows to both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, depriving them of resources needed to pay soldiers, rearm, resupply and wage war in Sudan,” US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said. “The United States stands on the side of civilians against those who perpetuate violence toward the people of Sudan.”
It remains unclear how the sanctions would affect either force’s financing or the trajectory of the conflict, now entering its seventh week.
The Biden administration said it is coordinating with the African Union, Saudi Arabia and others in the region, to press both parties to end the conflict.
The sanctions would need the support of other regional stakeholders, Khartoum-based think tank Confluence Advisory founder and director Kholood Khair said.
“The US was likely motivated to act because repeat violations are undermining its clout, globally,” Khair said.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would make a decision about how the US government would refer to the body of water commonly known as the Persian Gulf when he visits Arab states next week. Trump told reporters at the White House that he expects his hosts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will ask him about the US officially calling the waterway the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia. “They’re going to ask me about that when I get there, and I’ll have to make a decision,” Trump said. “I don’t want to hurt anybody’s
RSS