the Darfur hub of El-Fasher, which the paramilitary group captured in October. The Foreign Office in London said those targeted include RSF second-in-command Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, whose brother Mohammad Hamdan Daglo is the group's leader, as well as three other commanders.

They are accused of "mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians" when the RSF dislodged the Sudanese army from El-Fasher, its last stronghold in the western Darfur region. They now face UK asset freezes and travel bans. The government said the RSF's actions in El-Fasher were "not random" but instead "part of a deliberate strategy to terrorise populations and seize control through fear and violence".

It added satellite imagery showed evidence of mass graves where victims have been burned and buried, and the sanctions send "a clear message that those who commit atrocities will be held to account". The European Union last month also slapped sanctions on Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo. In a statement unveiling the UK curbs, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the atrocities taking place in Sudan "are so horrific they scar the conscience of the world".

"The overwhelming evidence of heinous crimes -- mass executions, starvation, and the systematic and calculated use of rape as a weapon of war -- cannot and will not go unpunished," she added. "The UK will not look away, and we will always stand with the people of Sudan."  Minni Minawi, the army-aligned governor of Darfur, welcomed the UK sanctions "as an important step toward holding accountable those responsible for the crimes and violations witnessed in Sudan in recent times". But he added the measures "remain incomplete" unless they also target Mohammad Hamdan Daglo, "as he is the decision-maker and the direct architect of the violence system". (Bssnews)