Australia sanctions Sudan's El Burhan and Hemedti
Canberra imposes travel bans and financial sanctions on four Sudanese individuals over war and rights abuses.
Australia has imposed targeted sanctions and travel bans on four Sudanese individuals, including SAF Commander Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as ‘Hemedti’. The Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced on Thursday that financial sanctions were also placed on the El Bara Bin Malik Brigade. Al-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum, the de facto governor of West Darfur, and RSF field commander Hussein Barsham also face financial sanctions and travel bans.
Wong stated that the RSF and the SAF have committed serious human rights violations and abuses, including attacks on civilians, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and extrajudicial killings. The sanctions build on Australia’s previous measures against 13 individuals under the UN Security Council’s Sudan sanctions framework. Dealing with the assets of listed individuals or the El Baraa Bin Malik Brigade without ministerial authorisation is now a criminal offence, and the four individuals are barred from entering or remaining in Australia.
Australia reported that hundreds of thousands have been killed and over 14 million displaced since the war began on April 15, 2023. Almost 34 million people, more than 70 per cent of Sudan’s population, need humanitarian assistance. Canberra has provided more than $67 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan, and Wong issued a humanitarian permit to ensure sanctions do not obstruct relief efforts.