A year after El Fasher fell, Britain has chosen the anniversary to put names to the cruelty that unfolded there, sanctioning fifteen commanders from both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces over suspected sexual violence during the siege. It is a small, deliberate act in a long human record where atrocity is often recorded first and answered only much later. The city's dead, the tens of thousands still unaccounted for, and the few who remain behind now carry the weight of a question the world has been slow to face: whether the horror could have been stopped, and whether anyo
UK Sanctions 15 Sudanese Commanders from Both Sides Over Sexual Violence in El Fasher Siege
Up to 10,000 people are believed slaughtered over two days during the RSF takeover of El Fasher, 40,000 remain unaccounted for, and fewer than 70,000 of a prewar population of over 1 million remain in the city.
Fewer than 70,000 remain of more than a million
Mark
Why does it matter that the UK sanctioned both sides?
Mimi
Because the list reaches 15 commanders from both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces. Sexual violence is attributed to figures on each side, not just the force that stormed the city.
Mark
What are the sanctions, concretely?
Mimi
A travel ban and an asset freeze. They restrict movement and money. They are not a trial.
Luke
Worth stressing that the commanders are described as suspected. The government says it suspects them; no court has ruled.
Mark
And the death toll?
Mimi
Up to 10,000 people are believed killed over two days, with 40,000 more unaccounted for.
Luke
Those are belief and estimate figures, not confirmed counts. Unaccounted for does not mean dead.
Mark
What about the UAE?
Luke
The backing is alleged, and the UAE denies it. The reporting here doesn't settle it.
Mimi
And the earlier Guardian investigation found that US and UK warnings were sidelined before the attack, which gives the anniversary a harder edge for London.
Mark
Is the war still going?
Mimi
Yes, increasingly with drones. The RSF recently hit power stations and caused outages across east Sudan.
Le Pouls
- Britain has frozen assets and imposed travel bans on fifteen commanders, a rare move that cuts across both sides of Sudan's war.
- Up to 10,000 people are believed slaughtered in two days, and 40,000 remain unaccounted for, leaving families still searching.
- Fewer than 70,000 people remain in a city that once held over a million, and testimony describes detention, torture and killings.
- A Guardian investigation has raised claims that warnings were ignored, pressing officials to explain what could have saved lives.
- The war is shifting toward drones, with power stations across east Sudan knocked out, and the sanctions are landing in a conflict that is still widening.
A year after El Fasher fell, Britain has chosen the anniversary to put names to the cruelty that unfolded there, sanctioning fifteen commanders from both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces over suspected sexual violence during the siege. It is a small, deliberate act in a long human record where atrocity is often recorded first and answered only much later. The city's dead, the tens of thousands still unaccounted for, and the few who remain behind now carry the weight of a question the world has been slow to face: whether the horror could have been stopped, and whether anyone will be held to account for it.
A year after El Fasher fell, the British government has used the anniversary to name names. It has announced sanctions on fifteen Sudanese military commanders suspected of sexual violence during the siege, imposing travel bans and asset freezes on each. The list spans both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the Foreign Office says it hopes the action will ensure the horrors of El Fasher are known to the world.
Two of those sanctioned are named. Hussein Abu Jalak is an RSF colonel linked to atrocities during a siege that forced civilians to survive on animal feed. Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as "Al-Qubba", played a prominent role in the attack on the city.
When the RSF took El Fasher, up to 10,000 people are believed to have been killed over two days, and 40,000 remain unaccounted for. The city, once home to more than a million people, now holds fewer than 70,000. The UAE, which is alleged to have backed the RSF, denies it.
A Guardian investigation has already asked whether the disaster could have been averted, reporting that US and UK warnings were sidelined before the assault. The Coalition on Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan has promised that victims will not be forgotten and that the pursuit of accountability will continue.
The war itself has not paused. It has displaced 14 million people and increasingly become a drone war, with recent strikes causing mass power outages across east Sudan. What comes next is whether the sanctions lead to further accountability, and whether the fighting in the skies drags more of the country's infrastructure into the conflict.
A year after El Fasher fell, the British government has chosen the anniversary to name names. It announced sanctions on 15 Sudanese military commanders it suspects of sexual violence during the siege of the city, imposing a travel ban and an asset freeze on each of them.
The list is not one-sided. The commanders come from both of the forces fighting Sudan's war: the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The Foreign Office described the targets as senior figures implicated in a "campaign of rape", and said it hoped the action would ensure that the horrors that took place at El Fasher are known to the world.
Two of the people sanctioned are named. Hussein Abu Jalak is an RSF colonel linked to atrocities during the siege, which pushed hundreds of thousands of civilians to survive on animal feed. Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, who is also known as "Al-Qubba", was identified as having played a prominent role in the attack on the city.
The scale of what happened there is hard to hold. When the RSF took the city, up to 10,000 men, women and children are believed to have been killed over two days. That is described as the fastest and largest massacre of civilians this century. A further 40,000 people remain unaccounted for.
The killing came at the end of an 18-month starvation siege by the RSF. The force was allegedly backed by the United Arab Emirates, which continues to deny supporting it. Before the war El Fasher had more than 1 million residents. Fewer than 70,000 are now believed to remain, and testimony from inside describes routine detention, torture and unlawful killings.
The question of whether the disaster could have been averted has already been raised. A Guardian investigation earlier this year revealed that internal US and UK warnings were sidelined in the run-up to the RSF assault, and that action that might have saved lives was not taken.
On the anniversary, the Coalition on Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan issued a statement saying the victims will not be forgotten, survivors will be heard, and the group will keep pursuing accountability for those responsible.
The wider war has not paused. In the twelve months since El Fasher fell, the conflict, which has forced 14 million people from their homes, has increasingly become a drone war. The latest strikes saw the RSF cause mass power outages across east Sudan by hitting power stations in a coordinated drone attack. What to watch now is whether the sanctions are followed by further accountability measures, and whether the fighting's shift to the skies pulls more of the country's infrastructure into it.
Citations marquantes
The Foreign Office said it hoped the action would ensure the horrors of El Fasher are known to the world.— UK Foreign Office
The victims will not be forgotten, survivors will be heard, and accountability will continue to be pursued.— Coalition on Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur The Guardian ↗
Politics & Governance