The EU has sanctioned Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, deputy commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, following allegations of atrocities and the RSF’s October seizure of El Fasher. The RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have been at war since April 15, 2023, producing a major humanitarian crisis. U.N. figures estimate about 12 million displaced and more than 100,000 fled El Fasher after Oct. 26, while aid groups report acute child malnutrition and urgent need for safe passage and accountability.
EU Sanctions RSF Deputy Commander After El Fasher Seizure as Sudan Conflict Nears Third Year
The EU has sanctioned Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, deputy commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, following allegations of atrocities and the RSF’s October seizure of El Fasher. The RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have been at war since April 15, 2023, producing a major humanitarian crisis. U.N. figures estimate about 12 million displaced and more than 100,000 fled El Fasher after Oct. 26, while aid groups report acute child malnutrition and urgent need for safe passage and accountability.
03:44 PM, 11/21/2025Conflict
The European Union has imposed sanctions on Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in response to a string of alleged atrocities as the conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) approaches its third year.
What prompted the sanctions
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the measures, citing the RSF’s reported targeting of civilians and its October seizure of El Fasher in North Darfur as a key factor. The EU said it remains ready to adopt additional restrictive measures against anyone who destabilizes Sudan or obstructs its political transition.
“Deliberate targeting of civilians, ethnically motivated killings, systematic sexual and gender-based violence, starvation as a method of warfare and denying access for humanitarian aid are serious breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”
Conflict background
The RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces have been fighting since April 15, 2023. The RSF emerged as a powerful semi-autonomous paramilitary force that played a central role in the 2019 overthrow of Sudan’s long-time ruler. Initially operating alongside the SAF, the two sides later clashed over the country’s political transition, sparking the current civil war.
Humanitarian crisis and accounts from the ground
The war has produced a vast humanitarian emergency. United Nations estimates put the number of internally displaced people in Sudan at roughly 12 million, while death toll estimates vary and could be very high.
U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said more than 100,000 people fled El Fasher and nearby areas after the RSF took the city on Oct. 26, and many remain missing or unaccounted for. “Those who escaped El Fasher are arriving at displacement sites where conditions are — as you can only imagine — extremely dire and the scale of needs is massive,” he said.
Humanitarian groups operating in Darfur have described alarming conditions. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported screening 70 children arriving in El Fasher in a single night, all suffering from acute malnutrition, and warned that after prolonged siege conditions, families are resorting to eating animal feed.
MSF: “After 500 days of siege, families are eating animal feed. We need safe passage now.”
Tom Fletcher, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, called Darfur “an absolute horror show” and described El Fasher, based on survivor testimony, as “basically a crime scene.” He urged that deliberate attacks on civilians must stop and that those responsible face justice.
Looking ahead
The EU’s sanctions target a senior RSF figure and signal readiness to expand measures if violence and obstruction of Sudan’s political transition continue. Meanwhile, humanitarian needs remain acute across Darfur and other conflict-affected areas.