The United Kingdom has announced sanctions on the warring factions in Sudan, amid growing concerns the country is sliding into a “full-scale civil war.”
Sudan has plunged into chaos since mid-April when monthslong tensions between the military and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the northeastern African nation.
The conflict derailed Sudanese hopes of restoring the country’s fragile transition to democracy, which had begun after a popular uprising forced the military's removal of Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. A coup, led by the military and RSF, disrupted the democratic transition in October 2021.
The UK government imposed sanctions on six firms with links with the military and the RSF, as part of international pressure on the warring factions to stop fighting. The sanctions announced Wednesday are nearly identical to that imposed by the US on both sides last month.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said Wednesday it was imposing the sanctions on firms “which are fueling the devastating conflict in Sudan by providing funding and arms to the warring militias.”
The measures target three businesses associated with the regular army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and three linked to the Rapid Support Forces, the FCDO said in a statement.
The sanctions “will limit their financial freedom by preventing UK citizens, companies and banks from dealing with them and put pressure on the parties to engage in the peace process.”
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the sanctions “are directly targeting those whose actions have destroyed the lives of millions.”
“Both sides have committed multiple cease-fire violations in a war which is completely unjustified.
“Innocent civilians continue to face the devastating effects of the hostilities, and we simply cannot afford to sit by and watch as money from these companies, all funding the RSF or SAF, is spent on a senseless conflict,” he added.
