Sudanupdated 29m ago3 min read
Australia Sanctions Al-Burhan, Hemedti, and Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade Over Sudan Abuses
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Australia imposes targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on al-Burhan, Hemedti, and RSF leaders. Sanctions also target the Al-Bara’ bin Malik Battalion for ties to the Islamist current.
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Sanctions on Sudan leaders
Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on four Sudanese individuals, including Sudanese Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Mousa, known as Hemedti, and it also imposed targeted financial sanctions on the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade. Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong said the measures respond to the ongoing war in Sudan and the humanitarian catastrophe since the conflict began on 15 April 2023, and she said 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. Australia’s media release said the sanctions target leaders of both warring parties, naming Commander in Chief of the SAF, Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, and Commander of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Mousa, and it said the sanctions build on sanctions already imposed by Australia on 13 individuals under the United Nations Security Council’s Sudan framework.
“Nearly 34 million people, representing more than 70% of Sudan’s population, need humanitarian assistance.”
Australia also listed Al-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum, described as the RSF-aligned de facto governor of West Darfur, and RSF field commander Hussein Barsham, and it said both face financial sanctions and travel bans. Australia’s measures included freezing assets and financial interests of those named or under their control, and the travel bans barred the concerned individuals from entering or remaining in Australia.
Human rights allegations
Australia’s statement said the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have committed serious human rights violations and abuses, including attacks on civilians, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and extrajudicial killings. Penny Wong said, “Those responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses must be held to account,” and she linked the sanctions to accountability for abuses during the ongoing conflict. The Australian government also said the latest measures built on sanctions previously imposed on 13 individuals under the United Nations Security Council’s Sudan sanctions framework, and it said the four individuals were added to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Consolidated List.
Australia’s media release described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as catastrophic, saying hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and over 14 million individuals have been displaced since the conflict began on 15 April 2023. Australia issued a class-based humanitarian permit for Sudan to facilitate certain humanitarian activities otherwise restricted under Australia’s autonomous sanctions framework, and it said the permit was intended to allow and facilitate full, safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Who is targeted and why
Australia’s sanctions list included four people: al-Burhan, Hamdan Dagalo, Tajani al-Tahir Karshoum, and Hussein Barsham, and it also included the Al-Bara’ bin Malik Battalion linked to the Sudanese Islamist current. Attasiaa said Australian documents describe the battalion as a quasi-military force allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces, and it said the classification reflects Australia’s stance on the battalion’s ties to the army. Dabanga Radio TV Online said the sanctions build on measures Australia previously imposed on 13 individuals under the United Nations Security Council’s Sudan sanctions framework, and it said the dealing with the assets of listed individuals or the El Baraa Bin Malik Brigade without ministerial authorisation is a criminal offence.
Radio Tamazuj said the sanctions were imposed under Australia’s Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, which allow the foreign minister to designate individuals and entities involved in serious violations or abuses of human rights, including violations of the right to life and the prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, slavery and forced labour. Radio Tamazuj said listed individuals or their authorised representatives may apply in writing to the foreign minister to have their designations revoked, and it said applicants must set out the circumstances and grounds on which they believe the listing should be withdrawn.