UK imposes sanctions on RSF officers over 'heinous' acts in Sudan

The UK has placed sanctions on four senior commanders of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces suspected of involvement in “heinous” violence against civilians in the city of El Fasher, but decided not to take any action against their key military and diplomatic backer, the United Arab Emirates, or their chief commander.

- Patrick Wintour Mark Townsend

British officials suggested they preferred to use their leverage with the UAE and the RSF commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, privately, but admitted there was little sign of a ceasefire in Sudan’s near three-year civil war.

They expressed fears the war may spread to South Sudan and Eritrea. There were also concerns among diplomats that rivalries between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, on display in the south of Yemen, could lead to a deepening of the conflict.