Australia has imposed Magnitsky-style financial sanctions and travel bans on Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Al-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum and Hussein Barsham, and financial sanctions on the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade. The listings build on Australia's earlier designations of 13 people under the UN Security Council Sudan framework.
Australia on 5 November imposed targeted Magnitsky-style human rights sanctions and travel bans on four Sudanese individuals and targeted financial sanctions on one entity, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade listed Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF); Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Mousa (Hemedti), commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF); Al-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum; and Hussein Barsham. The Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade was designated for financial sanctions only.
Wong said both the RSF and the SAF had committed serious human rights violations and abuses, including attacks on civilians, torture, sexual and gender-based violence and extrajudicial killings. The new measures, she said, build on sanctions Australia has already imposed on 13 individuals under the United Nations Security Council's Sudan framework. A class-based humanitarian permit has been issued so that certain aid activities that would otherwise be restricted can continue.
Who was listed
DFAT's notice names Karshoum and Barsham alongside the two main war leaders. Public reporting of the package, including by Radio Tamazuj and Sudan Tribune, identifies Karshoum with West Darfur's governing structures under RSF control and Barsham as an RSF commander. Australia lists the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade as an entity; the formation is widely described in open sources as an Islamist-aligned unit fighting alongside the SAF. CERHA states that description as background to Australia's listing and does not allege any new command change within the brigade.
Wong said hundreds of thousands of people had been killed since the war began on 15 April 2023, more than 14 million displaced and almost 34 million — over 70 per cent of the population — in need of humanitarian assistance. Australia has provided more than A$67 million in humanitarian aid. Canberra called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, and full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.
Image: Parliament House in Canberra at dusk. Thennicke, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.