The UK has frozen assets and imposed travel bans on 15 commanders from both sides of Sudan's war, among them two SAF major generals and the commander of the Islamist-linked Al-Baraa bin Malik Battalions.
The UK government on 26 October announced sanctions against 15 senior commanders from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) over suspected atrocities, including conflict-related sexual violence, to mark one year since the fall of El Fasher. The measures impose asset freezes and travel bans, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Who is on the list
The FCDO named RSF colonel Hussein Abu Jalak, whom it linked to atrocities during the siege of El Fasher, and Al-Nour Ahmed Adam ("Al-Qubba"), whom it said played a prominent role in besieging and attacking the city.
The official sanctions notice also lists army-side figures. They include Major General Awad Al-Karim Ali Saeed, commander of the SAF 1st Infantry Division in Gezira, and Major General Abdel Moneim Abdel Basset. Both are designated over what the UK calls a "systematic campaign of violence against civilians in Gezira State, including against persons on the basis of their ethnicity or religious beliefs".
The same Gezira grounds are given for Abu Zaid Talha Al-Misbah, named as Commander of the Al-Baraa bin Malik Battalions. The battalions are an Islamist militia fighting alongside the army. In March 2026 the US Treasury updated its listing of the Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigade to add terrorism designations and record it as "Linked To: Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood", which it designated on the same day.
Aid and accountability
The UK also announced £5 million for survivors of sexual violence and £10 million for the wider humanitarian response, including water and sanitation around Tawila and services in El Obeid. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said UK-funded investigations showed that "rape and starvation are still being weaponised against the people of Sudan" and that "support from all external backers to the warring parties must end".
The FCDO said the sanctions followed UK-funded reporting by the Centre for Information Resilience on starvation tactics and sexual violence by both sides. This is the sixth round of UK sanctions linked to the conflict.
Why it matters
The package is notable for naming army commanders and an Islamist battalion leader alongside RSF figures. Atrocities against civilians in Gezira, after the army retook the state, have drawn less international attention than those in Darfur. The UK's statement of reasons is a formal government finding of "reasonable grounds to suspect", not a criminal conviction.
Photo: Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in Doha, July 2026. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.