Indian firm, CEO among 8 entities sanctioned by US for 'fuelling' civil war in Sudan

WASHINGTON: The US imposed sanctions on eight persons and entities, including an Indian national associated with an explosives manufacturing firm, for allegedly fuelling the civil war in Sudan.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday said the targeted networks enabled both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to expand and intensify civil war in the African nation.

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

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on SBL Energy Limited and other firms based in Sudan and Egypt.

"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.

Raipur-based SBL Energy allegedly supplied explosives and related material to Sudan-based Target Multiactivities Company (TMAC), the US Treasury Department said. The explosives were subsequently used in bombs deployed by the SAF, it said.

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 (Giad) -- also known as Sudan Master Technology -- through complex and opaque structures from which it has generated billions of dollars.

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, the US Treasury Department said, adding 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 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.