US Legislators Call for Imposing Sanctions on Sudanese Military Junta

The US Capitol in Washington. (AFP)
The US Capitol in Washington. (AFP)
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US Legislators Call for Imposing Sanctions on Sudanese Military Junta

The US Capitol in Washington. (AFP)
The US Capitol in Washington. (AFP)

Congress legislators have criticized the President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan, and head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti” over the fierce clashes in Sudan.

US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and senior Republican in the Committee Jim Risch called for imposing sanctions on military leaders implicated in the recent clashes.

“Unfortunately, the international community and regional actors fell prey, again, to trusting junta Generals Burhan and Hemetti when they said they would hand power to civilians,” according to Risch.

“Playing along with their games has divided the pro-democracy movement and further weakened the hand of civilians. It is clear we need a fundamental shift in US diplomacy,” he said.

“Last year, Congress passed a joint resolution clearly stating that the military junta was the major obstacle to Sudanese democracy and that the Biden Administration needed to act to hold it accountable for human rights abuses, corruption,” Risch added.

“To date, this has not happened. Instead, the international community gave these selfish and brutal leaders more time to run out the clock.”

Risch added that “regardless of who started the current fighting, the Biden Administration must take immediate steps to sanction Generals Burhan and Hemetti, and other senior security officials, and push the international community to do the same.”

For his part, Menendez pressed the Administration “to impose targeted sanctions on all those who subvert the transitional process or are implicated in human rights abuses,” including senior members of the Sudanese junta.

He called on the US to “lead by example”.

“I encourage international partners to join us in affirming our dedication to the cause of freedom and advancing democratic values worldwide.”

Moreover, US Senator Chris Coons released a statement in the wake of the clashes saying, “Ultimately, the only way to achieve peace and stability in Sudan is through meaningful political discussion and the return of a civilian-led transition that respects the rights and aspirations of the Sudanese people.”

“Continued fighting risks dragging the country back into civil war and threatens the stability not only of Sudan but the entire region,” he warned.



Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)

Palestinian medical officials say two Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman, most in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone.

One strike late Monday hit a makeshift cafeteria used by displaced people in Muwasi, the center of the so-called humanitarian zone. At least 11 people were killed, including two children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Video from the scene showed men pulling bloodied wounded from among tables and chairs set up in the sand in an enclosure made of corrugated metal sheets.

The strike came hours after the Israeli military announced an expansion of the zone, where it has told Palestinians evacuating from other parts of Gaza to take refuge. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering in sprawling tent camps in and around Muwasi, a largely desolate area of dunes and agricultural fields with few facilities or services along the Mediterranean coast of southern Gaza.

Israel faces a deadline this week for the Biden administration’s ultimatum for it to allow more aid into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on US military funding.

Another strike early Tuesday hit a house in the urban Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people including a woman, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The strike also wounded 11 others, it said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either strike.

Israel’s 19-month-old campaign in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities who don’t distinguish between civilians and fighters in their count, but say more than half the dead were women and children.

Israel says it targets Hamas fighters and blames the armed group for civilian deaths, saying it operates in residential areas and infrastructure and among displaced people.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third believed to be dead.