November 13, Nairobi — The United States sanctioned Abdel Rahman Joma’a Barakallah for his leadership role in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday. Barakallah has led RSF’s campaign in West Darfur, which has included serious human rights abuses.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said that the RSF’s campaign in West Darfur has included targeting of civilians, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and ethnically motivated violence. Barakallah has been directly involved in planning the execution of the RSF’s campaign in the region, which included kidnapping and killing the West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar.
The sanctioning follows the United Nations Security Council’s November 8 designation of Barakallah and fellow RSF commander Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, who was sanctioned by the Treasury in May.
“Today’s action underscores our commitment to hold accountable those who seek to facilitate these horrific acts of violence against vulnerable civilian populations in Sudan,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith in the statement.
Situation in West Darfur
The U.S. said that the RSF and allied militias has orchestrated violence against local populations in Darfur. They accused the RSF and its warring party, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), of undermining the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Fighting continues to rage in West Darfur. Since taking control of the state in late 2023, the RSF and its allies have killed thousands of people and taken part in a campaign of ethnic cleansing, according to the international humanitarian group Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Thousands of families from West Darfur have been fleeing into Chad to escape the violence.