Washington, 27 June (H.S.): The United States has imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities, including an Indian national and his explosives manufacturing company, for allegedly supporting networks that have fuelled the ongoing civil war in Sudan. The sanctions were announced by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which accused the targeted networks of supplying weapons, explosives and logistical support to armed groups involved in the conflict.
Among those sanctioned is Alok Choudhari of Raipur, Chief Executive Officer of SBL Energy Limited, also known as Amin Explosive Private Limited. According to the US Treasury Department, the company allegedly supplied more than 200 shipments of explosives and explosive-related materials to Sudan-based Target Multiactivities Company (TMAC), which the US says maintains the arsenal of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The Treasury Department alleged that the explosives supplied by SBL Energy were subsequently used in bombs deployed by the Sudanese Armed Forces during the conflict. Along with Choudhari, SBL Energy Limited has also been placed under US sanctions. Authorities in Washington also sanctioned several companies based in Sudan and Egypt that they claim were involved in supporting military operations.
US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the sanctioned networks had supplied weapons, explosives and foreign fighters to both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He said their activities had prolonged the conflict, worsened what the United Nations has described as the world's most severe humanitarian crisis, and created conditions that could be exploited by terrorist organisations.
The sanctions also target TMAC and its General Manager, Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani, who is described by US authorities as a senior official linked to Sudan's Defence Industries System (DIS).
According to the US Treasury Department, the Defence Industries System is Sudan's largest defence enterprise and is responsible for maintaining the Sudanese Armed Forces' stockpile of weapons, ammunition, military vehicles and other defence equipment. The department said DIS operates through several subsidiaries, including the Giad Industrial Group, also known as Sudan Master Technology, which had already been sanctioned by the United States in 2023.
The Treasury Department further imposed sanctions on Ports Engineering Company Ltd, a state-owned civil engineering firm based in Port Sudan. US authorities alleged that the company imported military uniforms, footwear, ammunition belts and weapons cases for Sudanese security agencies through suppliers in the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye after the conflict began in April 2023.
In addition, the United States expanded sanctions against an international recruitment network accused of arranging former Colombian military personnel to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces. The network is allegedly led by retired Colombian military officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and his wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, both of whom had previously been sanctioned by Washington.
The latest sanctions also include three executives associated with Panama-based Talent Bridge SA, a company the United States alleges was used to conceal recruitment activities for the network. Those sanctioned are Panamanian nationals Enrique Daniel Palacios Quintanilla and Jack Peter Derman Guzman, along with Colombian national Fredy Alejandro Lopez Ocampo.
The conflict in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has displaced millions of people and triggered one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. Through the latest sanctions, the United States said it aims to disrupt financial and logistical networks that continue to sustain the fighting and hinder efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
