UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on four commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over atrocities committed against civilians in Darfur, with UN experts noting actions that bear “hallmarks of genocide.”
The sanctioned RSF leaders were implicated in mass killings and other abuses in el-Fasher, particularly during the October 26, 2025, takeover of North Darfur’s capital amid an 18-month siege. The United Kingdom had previously sanctioned them in December, and the new UN measures include travel bans and asset freezes.
Thousands of civilians were reportedly killed during the RSF’s capture of el-Fasher, the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in western Darfur. Only about 40% of the city’s 260,000 residents managed to escape, while thousands were injured; the fate of the remainder is uncertain.
Those targeted include RSF deputy commanders Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo and Lt. Gen. Gedo Hamdan Ahmed. Dagalo, brother of RSF chief Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, was documented directing fighters to “kill everyone” without taking captives. Ahmed, also called Abu Nashuk, was present during the killings alongside Dagalo.
Two other sanctioned commanders are Brig. Gen. Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu or “the Butcher of el-Fasher,” and field commander Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed, also known as Al Zeir Salem. Abu Lulu is documented executing civilians on video, boasting of killing over 2,000 people, with footage showing ethnically targeted killings and sexual violence, including gang rapes.
The UN committee highlighted that the abuses included executions of non-Arabs, widespread sexual assaults, and kidnappings, including medical personnel held for ransom. Videos captured by RSF fighters themselves served as evidence of the atrocities.
Cameron Hudson, a Sudan expert and former US diplomat, described the sanctioned RSF members as former Janjaweed, the militia notorious for targeting Darfur’s non-Arab populations since the early 2000s.
He urged the UN to sanction the entire group as “terrorists,” calling the current sanctions an essential step toward reasserting international accountability in Sudan and curbing ongoing violence.