UK is sending Darfur Sudan war crimes evidence to UN Security Council, UN Human Rights Council & ICC

UK is penholder on Sudan file at UN Security Council. The ICC launched a new investigation into alleged war crimes in Sudan in July with ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan saying “we are in the midst of a human catastrophe”.

Read more in a report at the Guardian

By Patrick Wintour Diplomatic Editor
Dated Tue 22 Aug 2023 17.25 BST; Last modified 17.59 BST - full copy:

War crimes being committed in Darfur, says UK minister Andrew Mitchell

Africa minister says civilian death toll horrific and UK is to send evidence to UN

Sudanese people fleeing the conflict in Darfur cross the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

War crimes and atrocities against civilians are being committed in Darfur, western Sudan, the UK’s Africa minister Andrew Mitchell said on Tuesday, becoming one of the first western officials to identify that the fighting in Sudan has developed into more than a power struggle between two rival factions.

Mitchell said there was growing evidence of serious atrocities being committed, describing the civilian death toll as horrific in a statement released by the Foreign Office. “Reports of deliberate targeting and mass displacement of the Masalit community in Darfur are particularly shocking and abhorrent. Intentional directing of attacks at the civilian population is a war crime.”

He added the UK would do all it could to assemble credible evidence to present to the UN security council, the UN Human Rights Council and the international criminal court.

There had been an expectation that the US would have explicitly joined the UK in making a formal atrocity determination, but so far the State Department has held off, partly because the US does not want to jeopardise talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, designed to end the civil war between Sudanese Armed Forces and the independent Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Observers claim the larger power struggle that broke out in April, with fighting in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, has provided cover for RSF allied forces to undertake ethnic cleansing in west Darfur, reviving memories of the genocide committed in Darfur 20 years ago.

The attacks on the Masalit and other ethnic communities are led by the Janjaweed militias allied with the RSF. The RSF is commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

More than 300,000 Sudanese nationals have crossed the border into neighbouring Chad since the conflict broke out, according to the UN’s migratory agency.

Africa minister Andrew Mitchell is one of the first western officials to identify that the fighting in Sudan is more than a struggle between two factions. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Kate Ferguson, co-executive director of the human rights NGO Protection Approaches, welcomed Mitchell’s statement saying: “He is absolutely right to condemn not only the armed conflict between the SAF and RSF which is devastating Sudan but also to highlight the deliberate targeting and mass displacement of non-Arab communities in Darfur.

“These two related but distinct trajectories of violence require related but distinct solutions; this reality must be a cornerstone for the UK government and the entire international system in the pursuit of peace in Sudan.

The Saudi peace talks rely on progress being made between different bad faith actors over which Riyadh seems to have little leverage. Others say the true external players in Sudan are Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which are closely linked to the SAF and RSF respectively.

The ICC launched a new investigation into alleged war crimes in Sudan in July with ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan saying “we are in the midst of a human catastrophe”.

The UK has imposed sanctions on businesses linked to the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces in an effort to register its disapproval.

View original: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/22/war-crimes-being-committed-in-darfur-says-uk-minister-andrew-mitchell

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UK sanctions Wagner leaders & front companies responsible for violence and instability across Africa

Press release

UK sanctions Wagner Group leaders and front companies responsible for violence and instability across Africa

English

العربيَّة

Thirteen new UK sanctions announced targeting individuals and businesses linked to the actions of Wagner Group in Africa.

From:

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP

Published

20 July 2023

• new UK sanctions target 13 individuals and businesses linked to the actions of the Russian Wagner Group, including executions and torture in Mali and the Central African Republic and threats to peace and security in Sudan
• this includes 3 designations for the mercenary group’s top officials in Mali and Central African Republic (CAR), including the ‘right hand man’ of Yevgeny Prigozhin, who have deliberately targeted civilians in their operations
• a further 5 businesses and individuals involved in threatening peace and stability in Sudan, including through disinformation campaigns and providing military equipment, have been targeted

The UK government has today (Thursday 20 July) announced a wave of sanctions against individuals and businesses involved with the Wagner Group in Mali, Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan. These measures will limit their financial freedom by preventing UK citizens, companies and banks from dealing with them, alongside freezing any assets held in the UK and travel bans.

The Russian mercenary Wagner Group has operated in Mali, CAR and Sudan for several years, aggressively pursuing Russian foreign policy interests in the region and providing military support to counter-terrorism operations which have seen hundreds of civilians killed. The UK has already sanctioned the Wagner Group, its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, and several of his key commanders who have participated in Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The head of the Wagner Group in Mali, Ivan Aleksandrovitch Maslov, is one of those targeted today. Wagner mercenaries, alongside Malian forces, massacred at least 500 people in Moura in March 2022, including summary executions as well as rape and torture.

The head of the Wagner Group in CAR, Vitalii Viktorovitch Perfilev, and the Wagner Group’s head of operations in the country, Konstantin Aleksandrovitch Pikalov, are sanctioned for deliberately targeting civilians.

Pikalov, known as the Wagner Group founder and CEO Yevgeny Prigozhin’s ‘right hand man’, is the operational head of Wagner in CAR. Pikalov is responsible for the Wagner Group’s torture and targeted killings of civilians.

Wagner Group has also provided weapons and military equipment to Sudan. Three businesses, which act as fronts for the Wagner Group and operate in the country, have been included in the new measures, due to the continued risk they pose to peace and stability. These include M-Invest, and its subsidiary Meroe Gold. These build on recent sanctions against companies funding the conflict.

Andrew Mitchell, Minister for Development and Africa, said:

The Wagner Group is committing atrocities in Ukraine, as well as acting with impunity in countries like Mali, Central African Republic and Sudan. Wherever Wagner operates, it has a catastrophic effect on communities, worsens existing conflicts and damages the reputations of countries that host them.

These sanctions expose despicable individuals who have commissioned violations of international humanitarian law, holding them to account for the severe harm they are inflicting on innocent civilians for financial gain.

The UK announced a package of sanctions linked to Sudan last week, targeting 6 companies providing funding and military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Through diplomatic engagement and aid programmes, the UK continues to support local, national and international efforts to promote long-term prosperity and stability in Mali, CAR and Sudan.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the destabilising role Wagner plays in this region. Wagner mercenaries operating in Africa have long been reported as being responsible for multiple breaches of international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights, including numerous reports of indiscriminate killings of unarmed civilians. The group’s presence in Africa is self-serving as demonstrated by their grip on the security and economic environments as well as their continued exploitation of natural resources.

The individuals and businesses sanctioned today are:

Mali

• Ivan Aleksandrovitch Maslov, the head of the Wagner Group’s operations in Mali, who oversaw the group’s involvement in the Moura Massacre and has been involved in the commission of violations of international humanitarian law, in particular, the deliberate targeting of civilians

Central African Republic

• Alexander Alexandrovich Ivanov, the Wagner Group’s unofficial spokesperson in CAR, for his association with the Group which has committed violations of international humanitarian law, deliberately targeting civilians
• Aleksandr Grigorievitch Maloletko, a military instructor for the Wagner Group and a close associate of Yevgeny Prigozhin, for his association with the Group which has committed violations of international humanitarian law
• Dimitri Sytii, an individual associated with the Wagner Group in CAR which has violated international humanitarian law, deliberately targeting civilians
• Konstantin Aleksandrovitch Pikalov, a close advisor of Yevgeny Prigozhin, for his involvement in the commission of violations of international humanitarian law in CAR, in particular the deliberate targeting of civilians
• mining company Lobaye Invest Sarlu for involvement in activities which threaten the peace, stability and security of the CAR, including through acts that undermine efforts to resolve armed conflicts, such as funding the training of CAR army recruits by Russian mercenaries
• Sewa Security Services, a CAR-based security company (and subsidiary of Lobaye Invest Sarlu) for its involvement in activities which undermine or threaten the peace, stability and security of the CAR, including by providing support for and/or promoting the actions of the Wagner Group in CAR
• Vitalii Viktorovitch Perfilev, the head of Wagner Group operations in CAR, for violating international humanitarian law by deliberately targeting civilians

Sudan

• Andrei Sergeevich Mandel, Director General of M-Invest which in itself is responsible for action which threatens the peace, stability and security of Sudan
• M-Invest, a company serving as a front for the Wagner Group, for threatening the peace and security of Sudan. M-invest has previously advised the Sudanese government on disinformation campaigns to discredit pro-civilian government protestors
• Meroe Gold, a mining subsidiary of M-Invest, for threatening the peace, stability and security of Sudan. Meroe Gold has imported equipment to Sudan including weapons, helicopters and military trucks
• Mikhail Potepkin, Regional Director of M-Invest and Director of Meroe Gold, for threatening the peace and stability in Sudan. Potepkin is associated with the Wagner Group. He worked to ensure planes hired by Meroe Gold could continue operate domestically and internationally whilst being undetected by commercial aviation radars
• Al-Solag Mining, for threatening the peace, stability and security of Sudan by its association with Meroe Gold (and for its attempts to avoid existing Western sanctions and Sudanese regulations)

View the full UK Sanctions List.

Media enquiries

Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7008 3100

Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

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Published 20 July 2023

View original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-sanctions-wagner-group-leaders-and-front-companies-responsible-for-violence-and-instability-across-africa

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UK urges accountability at UN for abuses in Sudan

THE UK called for an emergency meeting of UN Human Rights Council held today to push for accountability over violence and rights abuses in Sudan. 

Report from MSN.com

By REUTERS

Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by Matthias Williams

Published Thursday 11 May 2023 c.10:00 am BST UK - full copy:

Britain urges accountability at UN for rights abuses in Sudan

GENEVA (Reuters) – Britain urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to push for accountability over violence in Sudan at an emergency meeting in Geneva on Thursday but Sudan pushed back, saying the events unfolding there were an “internal affair”.

Britain’s minister of state for development and Africa Andrew Mitchell urged the 47-member council to “send a united message of concern and horror” ahead of an expected vote. Sudan’s ambassador told the council: “What’s happening in Sudan is an internal affair”.

Fleeing Sudanese seek refuge in Chad copyright Thomson Reuters

View original: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/britain-urges-accountability-at-un-for-rights-abuses-in-sudan/ar-AA1b2peL

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French special forces soldier shot on Sudan rescue

Sadly, a French special forces soldier has been seriously injured after being shot while helping French government officials escape from Khartoum, according to Britain’s Africa minister Andrew Mitchell.

Here is a report from The Telegraph

Tuesday 25 April 2023 9:13am BST - excerpt:

French special forces soldier shot on Sudan rescue mission

A French special forces soldier is "gravely ill" after a French team was shot at out outside the embassy as they evacuated diplomats, a British minister has revealed. 

"When the French were seeking to evacuate their diplomats, and some people from the wider French government platform... they were shot at as they came out through the embassy gateway and I understand one of their special forces is gravely ill," Andrew Mitchell, Africa minister for the UK Foreign Office, said in parliament on Monday.

It came as British troops flew to Port Sudan to carry out a reconnaissance mission as the Government continues efforts to rescue stranded citizens.  

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/04/24/sudan-latest-news-uk-diplomats-evacuation/

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Sudan news round-up from BBC Mon 24 Apr 2023

BBC EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockCopyright: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image caption: A battle-damaged street in Khartoum on 23 April

From BBC News Live Reporting 

Monday 24 April 2023 22:26 BST UK

Edited by Nathan Williams and Alys Davies

22:26 Pausing our coverage
Nathan Williams
Live reporter
We're pausing our live coverage for now, thanks for following along.

The two rival factions – the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the regular Sudanese army – have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, the US says. But, this is not the first ceasefire of the conflict – let's see if this holds. You can continue to read about the story here.

Nations have been attempting to get diplomats and citizens out of the country. But UK defence sources have warned the situation is "more dynamic, more dangerous" than what was seen during the evacuation of Kabul, Afghanistan back in 2021.

Amid the evacuations, some 3,500 Nigerians are "stranded", a Nigerian diaspora body has said. 

Throughout the day, we've also heard many harrowing stories from people on the ground – including those who are having trouble accessing food and water.

For more on this story see this short background piece. And here's another on how evacuations happen.

And here's our latest news story on the situation in Sudan.

Today's coverage was brought to you by Heather Sharp, Alexandra Fouché, Cecilia Macaulay, Ece Goksedef, Antoinette Radford, Laura Gozzi, Adam Durbin, Sam Hancock, Aoife Walsh, Nadine Yousif, Alys Davies and myself.

Summary

The UK government has insisted it's doing all it can to help British nationals stuck in Sudan - after diplomats and their families were rescued yesterday

Minister Andrew Mitchell says there are estimates of around 4,000 Britons in the country, but the number could be higher

Fighting between two opposing forces has seen deadly shooting and shelling in the country's capital, Khartoum, for more than a week

France, Germany, Italy and Spain have been evacuating diplomats and other nationals from Sudan

But UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has warned that help for Britons will remain "severely limited" until a ceasefire is reached

He added there were "specific threats and violence directed towards diplomats", which led to the decision to evacuate staff from the British embassy in Khartoum

A British businessman living in Sudan has told the BBC the situation is a "nightmare for those of us left behind" in the country

UK defence sources say the situation in Sudan is “very, very different” than what was seen during the evacuation out of Afghanistan in 2021

Khartoum is "more dynamic, more dangerous" than Kabul - with ongoing fighting in areas where Western nationals are located, the sources say

The BBC understands that a small British military team has landed in Sudan to assess potential evacuation options

Meanwhile, Sudan's rivals have agreed to a three day ceasefire starting on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says

More than 1,000 EU citizens have been airlifted out, many on French and German rescue missions

Fighting between the Sudanese army and RSF paramilitary force has left 420 people dead since it began on 15 April

About 9,000 refugees flee to South Sudan

US heavily involved in efforts to stop the fighting

Ceasefire comes after past attempts to call truce collapsed

See above reports here with thanks to the BBC.

Video caption: 

Sudan fighting: Europeans cram onto evacuation planes from Sudan

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