The United States has imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities, including an Indian national and a Raipur-based explosives manufacturer, alleging they helped fuel Sudan's ongoing civil war by supplying military-related material to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), reported PTI.
In a statement issued on Friday, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the targeted networks had enabled both the SAF and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to expand and intensify the conflict, which has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Among those sanctioned is Alok Choudhari of Raipur, Chief Executive Officer of SBL Energy Limited, also known as Amin Explosive Private Limited. OFAC alleged that SBL Energy supplied more than 200 shipments of explosives and explosive-related materials to Sudan-based Target Multiactivities Company (TMAC), which maintained the SAF's arsenal.
The US Treasury Department said the explosives were subsequently used in bombs deployed by the SAF.
Sanctions were also imposed on SBL Energy Limited, TMAC, its general manager and senior Defense Industries System (DIS) official Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani, along with other firms based in Sudan and Egypt.
"These networks supply weapons, explosives, and foreign fighters to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. Their support has prolonged a conflict that has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis and provided space for terrorist groups to operate," Tommy Pigott, spokesperson for the US Department of State, said in a statement.
According to the Treasury Department, the Defense Industries System (DIS) is Sudan's largest defence enterprise and is responsible for supporting and maintaining the SAF's arsenal of arms, ammunition, vehicles and military equipment, much of it acquired from Iran and other external backers.
DIS controls several subsidiaries, including the Sudanese conglomerate Giad Industrial Group, also known as Sudan Master Technology, through complex corporate structures that have generated billions of dollars in revenue.
The Treasury Department said DIS's acquisition of military equipment and related materials had enabled the SAF to sustain combat operations against the RSF, carry out attacks on civilians, and obstruct efforts to secure a ceasefire. Both DIS and Giad were sanctioned by the US in 2023.
OFAC also designated Ports Engineering Company Ltd, a state-owned civil engineering firm based in Port Sudan and established in 1998. Linked to Sudan Master Technology, the company allegedly imported military uniforms and footwear for Sudanese intelligence from a company in the United Arab Emirates, as well as ammunition belts and weapons cases from a Turkish firm after the conflict erupted in April 2023.
The sanctions also target individuals linked to a transnational recruitment network accused of enlisting former Colombian military personnel to fight alongside the RSF.
The network is led by retired Colombian officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and his wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, who had previously been sanctioned by Washington.
US authorities also blacklisted three executives associated with Panama-based Talent Bridge SA, a company allegedly used to conceal the recruitment operation. They are Panamanian nationals Enrique Daniel Palacios Quintanilla and Jack Peter Derman Guzman, and Colombian national Fredy Alejandro Lopez Ocampo.
(With inputs from PTI)