Senior Sudanese commanders sanctioned after being implicated in rape campaign, says UK government

Senior Sudanese commanders allegedly implicated in a campaign of rape during the country's conflict have been sanctioned by the UK government.

Fifteen top military figures from both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and rival Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) face sanctions for suspected atrocities, including conflict-related sexual violence.

They include Hussein Abu Jalak, an RSF colonel linked to atrocities during the siege of Al Fashir, and Al-Nour Ahmed Adam ("Al-Qubba"), identified as playing a prominent role in the siege of the city.

The sanctions impose a travel ban and asset freeze on the commanders.

After an 18-month siege of Al Fashir, during which hundreds of thousands of civilians starved, the city that had served as a major agricultural market fell to the paramilitary RSF in October 2025.

A United Nations (UN) fact-finding report in February estimated the RSF killed at least 6,000 people in three days, in a takeover that bears "the hallmarks of genocide".

The UN Human Rights Office said it documented the killing of at least 4,400 people inside the city between 25 October and 27 October, while more than 1,600 were killed as they were trying to flee the RSF rampage.

The 29-page UN report detailed atrocities that it said ranged from mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, abductions for ransom, torture and ill-treatment to detention and disappearances.

Also, senior commanders present during alleged atrocities in Zamzam internally displaced persons camp, and figures associated with alleged massacres and violence against civilians in Gezira State face sanctions, said the UK government.

The announcement comes after the release of UK-funded reporting by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), which revealed "a campaign of systematic starvation and conflict-related sexual violence against civilians in Sudan from both sides of the conflict", the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

"Now, one year later, further UK-supported CIR reporting has this week shown the brutal tactics used during the siege are still being deployed across Sudan."

The FCDO added: "Sexual violence is also rampant, with CIR reporting describing women and girls being abducted, repeatedly raped, and held in conditions amounting to sexual slavery."

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The FCDO also announced it is allocating £5m to support the survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, while £10m will go towards supporting the ongoing response to the "deteriorating humanitarian situation" in the country.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said: "The war in Sudan has created a humanitarian catastrophe.

"A year on from the atrocities in El Fasher, UK-funded investigations have shown that rape and starvation are still being weaponised against the people of Sudan.

"These are crimes against our humanity - the perpetrators must be held accountable and support from all external backers to the warring parties must end."

(c) Sky News 2026: Senior Sudanese commanders sanctioned after being implicated in rape campaign, says UK govern