US imposes sanctions on former Sudanese minister and 2 companies backing the paramilitary force

abcnews.go.com:

The United States has imposed sanctions on a former Sudanese government minister and two companies tied to the paramilitary force that's locked in fighting with the Sudanese army

CAIRO — The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on a former Sudanese government minister and two companies tied to the African country's paramilitary force that is locked in monthslong fighting with the Sudanese army.

The sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury will block all property in the U.S. and entities owned by Sudan's former Foreign Minister Ali Karti, Sudan-based information company GSK Advance Company Ltd, and the Russia-based military company Aviatrade LLC.

Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Force paramilitary, or RSF, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, escalated into open warfare.

The Treasury said both sanctioned companies have been supporting the RSF in its fight against the military. It said the two have worked together to procure parts and supplies, as well as training for unmanned aerial vehicles and monitoring equipment for the paramilitary force following the outbreak of the conflict.

From 2010 to 2015, Karti was foreign minister under the country's former Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir who was ousted in a popular uprising in April 2019.

“He and other hard-line Sudanese Islamists are actively obstructing efforts to reach a cease-fire to end the current war… and opposing Sudanese civilians’ efforts to restore Sudan’s democratic transition,” the Treasury said.

The Rapid Support Force has accused the Sudanese army of harboring hard-line Islamists, something the military has denied.

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