Sudan’s RSF: Sanctions on leaders 'unfortunate and shocking'

The US Treasury’s decision to impose sanctions on the Deputy Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Abdel Rahim Dagalo, is “unfortunate, shocking and unfair”, the group said yesterday.

“We reviewed the decision issued yesterday by the US Treasury Department to impose sanctions against Lieutenant General Abdul Rahim Dagalo, the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces, based on allegations of violations that occurred in various regions during the war,” the RSF said in a statement.

The RSF added that this decision is “unfortunate, shocking, and unfair,” noting that it is “purely political.”

According to the statement, the decision was taken without an accurate and transparent investigation into the party that caused the outbreak of the war and the accompanying violations committed by various parties in Khartoum and other cities in Sudan

The decision, the statement added, is selective and will not help achieve any of the core goals that should be focused on, including reaching a comprehensive political solution, conducting a comprehensive transitional justice process that leads to justice for the victims and building a sustainable peace.

The US selectively ignored the egregious violations committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces, including air and artillery bombardment, arresting anti-war civilians across the country, starving and torturing detainees, violating the no-fly zone in Darfur and carrying out aerial bombardment on the civilian population in Nyala, the RSF said.

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