Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson - 12/04/2023 02:28 PM EST The United States is today designating three officials of the former Omar al-Bashir regime: Mohamed Atta Elmoula Abbas, Taha Osman Ahmed al-Hussein, and Salah Abdallah Mohamed Salah, also known as Salah Gosh. These individuals have engaged in activities that undermine the peace, security, and stability of Sudan.
Elmoula and Gosh are former security officials who worked to return former regime elements to power and undermine efforts to establish civilian government, while Taha worked to facilitate the delivery of military and other materiel support from external sources to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
This action advances our efforts to undermine those fueling the conflict and obstructing the Sudanese people’s aspirations for peace and civilian, democratic rule. The United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal to disrupt the ability of the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces to further prolong this war, and to hold accountable those responsible for deepening the conflict or obstructing a return to civilian government.
The United States also is committed to promoting accountability for those responsible for atrocities in the conflict. We stand in solidary with the people of Sudan and against those who commit human rights abuses and destabilize the region. The warring parties must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and we call on them to protect civilians, hold accountable those responsible for atrocities or other abuses, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and negotiate an end to the conflict.
Today’s measures build on previous designations of individuals from the al-Bashir regime, including Ali Karti and Abdelbasit Hamza. The Department of the Treasury actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 14098 “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition.” For more information on these designations, see Treasury’s press release.
AND ALSO RE SUDAN:
A United Nations political mission in war-racked Sudan will end on Sunday after the UN Security Council voted to shut it down following a request from Sudanese authorities last month.
Fourteen of the council’s 15 members adopted Friday’s resolution to end the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), while Russia abstained.
Starting Monday, a three-month transition period will begin to allow for the departure of UNITAMS personnel and the transfer of its tasks to other UN agencies “where appropriate and to the extent feasible”.
While they voted in favour of the resolution, UN ambassadors from the United States and United Kingdom expressed dismay over the decision.
“Let me be clear, the United Kingdom would not have chosen to close UNITAMS at this moment,” said Britain’s deputy UN envoy James Kariuki, whose country drafted the resolution.
US envoy Robert Wood said: “We are gravely concerned that a reduced international presence in Sudan will only serve to embolden the perpetrators of atrocities with dire consequences for civilians.”
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