Treasury sanctions three RSF commanders over El-Fasher atrocities

WASHINGTON, February 19, 2026 — The U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces over their roles in atrocities in El-Fasher, the North Darfur city seized by the paramilitary group after an 18-month siege. Treasury said the campaign involved ethnic killings, torture, starvation and sexual violence.

The designations target Elfateh Abdullah Idris Adam, also known as Abu Lulu; Gedo Hamdan Ahmed Mohamed, also known as Abu Shok; and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed, also known as Al Zeir Salem. Treasury said Idris was filmed killing unarmed civilians and later executing captives, while Gedo and Tijani held senior RSF command roles during the siege and capture of El-Fasher, where fighters were documented massacring thousands and committing abductions, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence.

Treasury said the action follows similar designations by the United Kingdom on Dec. 12, 2025, and the European Union on Jan. 29, 2026. The department said Sudan’s civil war, which began in April 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced more than 14 million in what it described as the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14098. As a result, all property and interests in property of the designated individuals in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Entities owned 50% or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked, and U.S. persons are generally barred from dealings involving their property unless authorized or exempt.