US sanctions Indian CEO in Sudan War crackdown; Details may surprise you

With Sudan's civil war continuing to deepen human suffering, the United States has imposed sanctions on eight persons and entities, including an Indian national associated with an explosives manufacturing firm, for allegedly fuelling the conflict, PTI reported.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on Friday that the targeted networks enabled both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to expand and intensify the civil war in the African nation. The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on SBL Energy Limited and other firms based in Sudan and Egypt.

Among those sanctioned is Alok Choudhari of Raipur, the Chief Executive Officer of SBL Energy Limited, also known as Amin Explosive Private Limited. The firm allegedly supplied more than 200 shipments of explosives and explosive-related materials to a company that maintained the SAF's arsenal.

Raipur-based SBL Energy allegedly supplied explosives and related material to Sudan-based Target Multiactivities Company (TMAC), the US Treasury Department said. It said the explosives were subsequently used in bombs deployed by the SAF. TMAC and its general manager, senior DIS officer Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani, have also been blacklisted.

According to the US Treasury Department, the Defense Industries System (DIS), Sudan's largest defence enterprise, supports and maintains the SAF's arsenal of arms, ammunition, vehicles and material, often acquired from Iran and other external backers. DIS controls numerous subsidiaries, including the Sudanese conglomerate Giad Industrial Group, also known as Sudan Master Technology, through complex and opaque structures from which it has generated billions of dollars.

The US Treasury Department said DIS's acquisition of military equipment and related material has enabled the SAF to sustain combat operations against the RSF, conduct attacks against civilians, and reject and obstruct efforts to cease hostilities and achieve a ceasefire. It added that DIS and Giad were sanctioned in 2023.

OFAC also designated Ports Engineering Company Ltd, a state-owned civil engineering construction firm established in 1998 and based in Port Sudan. Linked to Sudan Master Technology, the firm reportedly imported military uniforms and footwear for Sudanese intelligence from a company in the United Arab Emirates, alongside ammunition belts and weapons cases from a Turkish firm since the conflict erupted in April 2023.

The restrictions also targeted individuals tied to a transnational network that recruits former Colombian military personnel to fight alongside the RSF. The network, led by retired Colombian officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and his wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was previously sanctioned by Washington. US authorities also blacklisted three individuals associated with Panama-based Talent Bridge, SA, a company allegedly used to obscure the recruitment operations.

The sanctioned individuals, who all held executive or managerial roles at the company, include Panamanian nationals Enrique Daniel Palacios Quintanilla and Jack Peter Derman Guzman, as well as Colombian national Fredy Alejandro Lopez Ocampo.

"These networks supply weapons, explosives, and foreign fighters to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. Their support has prolonged a conflict that has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis and provided space for terrorist groups to operate," Tommy Pigott, spokesperson of the US Department of State, said in a statement.

The sanctions announced by the US cover individuals and entities allegedly linked to supplying explosives and military-related material to the SAF, as well as a network accused of recruiting foreign fighters for the RSF, including Indian national Alok Choudhari and Raipur-based SBL Energy Limited.