UK announces Sudan sanctions package targeting illicit gold and finance networks sustaining the war. UK calls for UN arms embargo to cover El Obeid

"The UK has sanctioned those suspected of being linked to financing, procurement, and commercial networks fuelling the Sudan conflict.

The sanctions come as the UK and international partners are on red alert, monitoring the deteriorating situation in El Obeid, where the RSF is building up surge forces around a city already under immense humanitarian pressure." See list of sanctioned below.

Press release

From Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and 

The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Published Thursday 16 July 2026 - full copy:

UK sanctions illicit gold networks fuelling Sudan’s war amid crisis around El Obeid

The UK has sanctioned those suspected of being linked to financing, procurement, and commercial networks fuelling the Sudan conflict.

• UK announces Sudan sanctions package targeting illicit gold and finance networks sustaining the war
• UK calls for UN arms embargo to cover El Obeid as city on the precipice of major atrocity 
• Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says UK will tackle those fuelling the conflict.

The UK has today announced sanctions targeting the conflict gold trade in Sudan, procurement networks and financial facilitators that are fuelling Sudan’s war.

Sudan’s booming gold industry is the engine of its war economy. While official gold exports were worth $1.5 billion in 2024 and 2025, the true value of the sector is estimated to be several times higher, with billions of dollars’ worth of gold smuggled out of Sudan each year through illicit channels, helping finance weapons procurement, military operations and the activities of armed groups.

These measures target eleven individuals and entities suspected of being linked to the financing, procurement and commercial networks supporting the RSF or the SAF and fuelling Sudan’s conflict. All are Sudanese but they trade internationally including in the gold markets in Dubai and Hong Kong. 

At the centre of the package is Sudanese national Abu Dharr, suspected of being a notorious RSF financier and procurement facilitator. He is suspected of having helped fund and sustain RSF operations from beyond Sudan’s borders through a web of real estate, conflict gold, and holding companies based in Dubai.

Vast quantities of Sudanese gold continue to be monetised before entering global markets, making it a critical gateway for revenues generated by Sudan’s illicit gold sector.

By targeting these companies and facilitators, the UK is exposing and disrupting key commercial networks that help convert Sudan’s gold wealth into revenue that sustains the conflict.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

“The people of Sudan continue to pay the price for a war fuelled not only by guns and fighters, but by illicit flows of gold and finance to fill the war chests on both sides. These sanctions are targeting Sudan’s war economy and they will shine a light on those who seek to profit from these illegal shadow networks. 

“As the world watches the deeply alarming build-up around El Obeid, we continue to call on the RSF to halt their assault. And we are making clear that those enabling atrocities, from the battlefield to the boardroom, will be held accountable.”

The sanctions come as the UK and international partners are on red alert, monitoring the deteriorating situation in El Obeid, where the RSF is building up surge forces around a city already under immense humanitarian pressure.  

The UK has warned that El Obeid is at risk of becoming the scene of another mass atrocity, following the horrors witnessed in El Fasher. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for the UN arms embargo to be extended to reach El Obeid.

Illicit gold will be a priority theme at the UK’s Illicit Finance Summit, due to take place in London in December 2026. The Summit will bring together governments, civil society and the private sector to build an international coalition to tackle flows of dirty money around the world, including the trade in illicit gold.

ENDS.

Notes to Editor.

• Foreign Secretary Statement to the House of Commons with UN arms embargo call to reach El Obeid.

• List of sanctioned.

· Abu Dharr Abdul Nabi Habiballa Ahmmed – RSF financier and procurement facilitator suspected of using a network of companies to secure funding, move money and support RSF operations.

· Prodigious Real Estate Management Supervision Services – Sudanese UAE-based company suspected of being part of Abu Dharr’s commercial network used to support RSF financing activities.

· Mazin Fadlalla – RSF-linked procurement operative suspected of being involved in acquiring funding, equipment and materiel for the RSF.

· Ahmed Hashim – RSF- linked procurement operative suspected of being involved in sourcing funding and supplies for the RSF.

· Natwest Logistics – Sudanese UAE-based company suspected of being used by Mazin Fadlalla and Ahmed Hashim to support RSF procurement and logistics activities.

· Aoun Commercial Brokers – Sudanese UAE-based company suspected of being used by Mazin Fadlalla and Ahmed Hashim to facilitate procurement and financial transactions for the RSF.

· Ahmad Abdalla – Procurement operative linked to the SAF and Defence Industries Systems (DIS), suspected of being involved in securing weapons, equipment and funding for the SAF.

·Portex Trade Limited – Sudanese Hong Kong-based company suspected of being used by Ahmad Abdalla to support SAF procurement activity and evade existing sanctions restrictions.

· Omdurman Mining – Sudanese state-owned mining company suspected of generating gold revenues that support the SAF’s war effort.

· Ariab Mining Company – Sudanese state-owned mining company suspected of involvement in illicit gold activities that generate revenue for the SAF.

· Sudamin Company Ltd – Sudanese state-owned mining company linked to Sudan’s gold sector and suspected of channelling revenue from conflict gold to both the SAF and RSF, including through past links to sanctioned company Al Junaid.

View original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-sanctions-illicit-gold-networks-fuelling-sudans-war-amid-crisis-around-el-obeid

Ends.

The US is one of the leading arms traders to the UAE. Sudan's VP defends refusal to join US-led peace talks

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Wars are started and prolonged for money and profit. The US is >$35 trillion in debt and makes and sells arms to reduce its debt. In my view, wherever there is war the US seems to be in the thick of it or in the background in the guise of fighting for freedom and democracy.

Here is an 11-minute video report by PBS News Sep 3, 2024 titled ‘Sudanese teachers and shopkeepers join the fight against rebels in nation’s civil war’. Note that at 4:35 it says: “The United States is one of the leading arms traders to the UAE”.

Video and transcript: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/sudanese-teachers-and-shopkeepers-join-the-fight-against-rebels-in-nations-civil-war

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Related reports

From PBS News - August 16, 2024

Video and transcript 

‘Amid brutal civil war, Sudan’s VP defends refusal to participate in U.S.-led peace talks’

This week, the United States attempted peace talks in Geneva, but the Sudanese armed forces refused to attend. With the support of the Pulitzer Center, special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen discussed the war with Sudanese Vice President Malik Agar.

Full story: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/amid-brutal-civil-war-sudans-vp-defends-refusal-to-participate-in-u-s-led-peace-talks

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From Amnesty International - July 25, 2024

‘Sudan: Constant flow of arms fuelling relentless civilian suffering in conflict – new investigation’

The conflict in Sudan is being fuelled by a constant flow of weapons into the country, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing. The briefing, New Weapons Fuelling the Sudan Conflict, documents how recently manufactured foreign weapons have been transferred into and around Sudan, often in flagrant breach of the existing Darfur arms embargo.

Amnesty International found that recently manufactured or recently transferred weapons and ammunition from countries including China, Russia, Serbia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen are being imported in large quantities into Sudan, and then in some cases diverted into Darfur.

Full story: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/07/sudan-constant-flow-of-arms-fuelling-relentless-civilian-suffering-in-conflict-new-investigation/

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Sudan: A European-led tripartite meeting in Addis discusses arms embargo on Sudan & Article Seven, ignoring the position of both sides of the conflict

THIS report published in Arabic was kindly sent in to Sudan Watch by a Sudanese reader living and working in the UK over the past twenty years. Here is a copy in full, translated from Arabic by Google translate.

From sudanakhbar.com
By Radio Dabanga Arabic
Dated Friday, 9 February 2024

A European-led tripartite meeting in Addis Ababa discusses the arms embargo on Sudan, the imposition of Article Seven, and ignoring the position of both sides of the conflict - Sudan News

The Darfur Bar Association and the African Centre for Peace and Justice meet with a joint delegation with representatives of the European Union Mission Badis Ayaya

At the request of the Darfur Bar Association and the African Centre for Peace and Justice, a joint delegation met with representatives of the European Union Delegation in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this morning, February 8, 2024, and the meeting was devoted to consultation on the situation in Sudan and with a focus on stopping the war and the humanitarian situation.

The Army and RSF are not qualified to discuss post-war issues

Mr. Saleh Mahmoud, Chairman of the Darfur Bar Association, described the humanitarian situation as aggravated and worrying, not only in Darfur, but in the whole of Sudan, given the number of people affected, which the most modest statistics indicate exceeds 10 million people.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Mr. Saleh Mahmoud pointed out that the meeting also touched on gross violations of human rights and international law and the continued commission of heinous crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The meeting also touched on the future of the political process after the cessation of the war, as the Darfur Bar Association and the African Center for Peace and Justice confirmed that there is currently no government in Sudan representing all Sudanese to discuss the post-war situation, stressing that the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (Janjaweed Foundation) are not qualified to discuss the situation of Sudan and negotiate that indicates the return of the situation to what it was before the war.

Sudan arms embargo

On ways to stop the war, Mr. Saleh Mahmoud stressed that the discussion touched on the activation of all measures under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and various international treaties. He pointed to the importance of taking measures related to banning the import of weapons flowing into Sudan as a priority, not dealing with the parties to the war and not for the purpose of negotiations to return them to the position of power again, given that the task of determining how and who will govern Sudan is a task for the Sudanese people.

Mr. Saleh Mahmoud stated that they explained to the representatives of the European Union Mission the possibility of delivering humanitarian aid in a shorter way through Chadian territory for the people of the Darfur region in order to avoid the difficulties facing its flow through the port of Port Sudan as well as to the rest of the affected areas in Sudan. We asked them to think together about ways to deliver aid in the presence of the old state institution that is tainted by corruption that could hinder the delivery of this aid or sell it in the markets to those affected.

Exceeding the consent of the parties to the war

Mr. Saleh Mahmoud warned that the passage of aid in areas controlled by the army or the Rapid Support Forces threatens the possibility of reaching those who deserve it. Mr. Saleh Mahmoud stressed that they called for activating international humanitarian law, especially the articles that allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to those affected without obtaining the consent of the force controlling the ground, whether it is rapid support or armed forces, and the international community and regional institutions in delivering aid should not be subject to the will of the warring parties that do not represent the Sudanese people.

Calling for a greater role for the African Peace and Security Council

Regarding the speech addressed by the African Center for Justice and Peace to the African Peace and Security Council, Musaed Mohamed Ali, director of the center, confirmed in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the message is mainly aimed at stopping the war as a top priority. The letter called on the Peace and Security Council and the African Union to play its role and exert greater efforts to stop the war and stop hostilities in Sudan as soon as possible. In the short term, the letter called on the council to work towards a swift cessation of hostilities to allow the passage of humanitarian aid to those affected who have been displaced inside Souda.

View original: https://www.sudanakhbar.com/1483595

END

South Sudan called on UN Security Council to lift arms embargo, after it deployed soldiers without firearms

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: I watched on TV South Sudan’s President Kiir giving a speech in English at the UN General Assembly 2023. He shuffled to the podium without lifting his feet and spoke each word slowly while not appearing to convey comprehension. He seemed to be tired and in poor health and may not be fit enough for an election in December 2024. 

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Report by Xinhua 

Reprinted by The Independent 

Dated Saturday, 18 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

South Sudan calls for lifting arms embargo after deploys forces without firearms

Silva Kiir, South Sudan president

Juba, South Sudan | Xinhua | South Sudan on Friday called on the United Nations Security Council to lift the existing arms embargo, after it deployed the first battalion of 750 soldiers to Malakal town of Upper Nile state without firearms.

Michael Makuei Lueth, minister of Information and Communication, Technology and Postal Services, said that the first phase of the unified forces on Wednesday was deployed without forearms to Upper Nile state located north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, due to the existing arms embargo which has made it difficult for them to procure arms.

“We are deploying them without arms because we have no arms, the UN Security Council decided to pass a resolution on the arms embargo on South Sudan, so we are unable to acquire arms for our forces,” Makuei told journalists after the weekly cabinet meeting. “It is the international community that insisted and said that you must deploy these forces; we have been saying we cannot deploy them without arms.”

Makuei said that the forces that were trained in the Upper Nile would be brought to Juba for integration with other forces from Bahr el-Ghazal. He called on the international community and the UN Security Council to lift the arms embargo to enable them to arm the unified forces.

South Sudan’s transitional unity government graduated the first batch of 53,000 unified forces in August last year. In total 83,000 unified forces are supposed to be graduated and deployed under the 2018 revitalized peace agreement signed to end years of conflict since the outbreak in December 2013.

On May 30, 2023, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to renew for a year arms embargo measures against South Sudan as well as targeted sanctions of travel ban and asset freeze against individuals and entities. The arms embargo and sanctions were imposed in 2018 following the outbreak of conflict in December 2013. 

View original: https://www.independent.co.ug/south-sudan-calls-for-lifting-arms-embargo-as-it-deploys-forces-without-firearms/

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UK has a key role to play in fighting for peace in Sudan

RIGHT NOW IN SUDAN, over five million people have been displaced and many thousands killed. Twenty-four million people – half the population – need humanitarian assistance, 15 million suffer from acute food insecurity and 19 million children are out of school. Recent analysis has shown that at least 68 villages in Darfur have been burnt to the ground by armed militia in the past few months.  The UK's APPG hopes that more can be done to stop the flow of arms to warring parties by putting greater pressure on their regional backers, enforcing the existing UN arms embargo on Darfur and extending it to the entire country. Read more in the following article.

From Politics Home, UK

By Vicky Ford MP @vickyford

Dated Thursday, 9 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

The UK has a key role to play in fighting for peace in Sudan

Wreckage in Khartoum (Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo)

October marked six months since the beginning of the war in Sudan and two years since the military coup that first dashed hopes of Sudan’s swift road to democracy. There is no clear winner and no end in sight.

Over five million people have been displaced and many thousands killed. Twenty-four million people – half the population – need humanitarian assistance, 15 million suffer from acute food insecurity and 19 million children are out of school. Of the $2.6bn required for humanitarian assistance, only $859m is available. 

Members of the [UK Govt] All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Sudan and South Sudan met with Liela Musa Medani, a Sudanese woman who has previously lived in the United Kingdom for over 20 years. She escaped from Khartoum in July but remains in touch with family members. Of the 50 households that used to live in her street, only four remain. 

For the past six months, they have faced killings and artillery shelling every single day. There is no food, and anyone who tries to transport food risks their life. There is no electricity, no water, no medicine and no humanitarian aid. The few people left in that once mighty city cannot leave. School buildings are now cemeteries. Girls have learned to disfigure themselves to try to avoid being raped.

Ethnic cleansing has returned to Darfur. Twenty years ago, during the genocide, between 300,000 and 400,000 people were killed, either directly in the conflict or indirectly. Recent analysis has shown that at least 68 villages in Darfur have been burnt to the ground by armed militia in the past few months.  

Since the war began, many of those forced to leave their homes have fled towards Chad and South Sudan. Over 320,000 Sudanese have crossed the border into Egypt, while many others are still stranded at the borders.

The UK has a key role to play due to our close historical relations with Sudan, the trust many Sudanese people still place in us and our role as a penholder in the United Nations Security Council. The significant Sudanese diaspora community in the UK includes NHS doctors. 

The UK has sanctioned some of the financial networks of the warring parties, sponsored a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council establishing an independent Commission of Enquiry to investigate alleged human rights violations and provided diplomatic and practical support to help pro-democracy civilians cohere around a common platform.

The UK should continue to press for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian access, scale up life-saving support and support better co-ordination between different regional and international mediation initiatives. 

The APPG hopes that more can be done to stop the flow of arms to warring parties by putting greater pressure on their regional backers, enforcing the existing UN arms embargo on Darfur and extending it to the entire country. Targeted sanctions should also be extended to old regime loyalists who are calling for the continuation of the war.   

There are two potentially encouraging developments. The Jeddah talks, suspended since June, have resumed and Sudanese civilian leaders have met in Addis Ababa aiming to build a united Democratic Civilian Front to end the war, deliver vital humanitarian assistance and secure a path to democratic government. This may create momentum for further unification of democratic civilian voices. Nevertheless, the prospects for ending the war remain very uncertain.  

It is in the UK’s strategic interest to try to prevent the spread of terrorism, increased migration and the destabilisation of the wider region. Therefore it remains important that the UK continues to play an active diplomatic role and try to find a path to peace.

Vicky Ford, Conservative MP for Chelmsford, former minister for Africa and chair of the APPG for Sudan and South Sudan

View original: https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/uk-key-role-play-fighting-peace-sudan

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