The UK has placed sanctions on four high-ranking commanders of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). They are suspected of carrying out "heinous" violence against civilians in El Fasher. These sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans. However, the UK decided not to sanction the RSF's main backer, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or the RSF’s chief commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also called Hemedti. British officials said they want to use private diplomacy with the UAE and Hemedti because there is little sign of a ceasefire in the nearly three-year civil war in Sudan. They also worry the war could spread to South Sudan and Eritrea. Rivalries between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, visible in Yemen’s south, could deepen the conflict in Sudan. The UK says there are about 26 possible arms supply routes into Sudan from 10 countries. Saudi Arabia and Egypt mainly support Sudan’s army, while the RSF has backing from the UAE, a claim the Gulf state denies despite evidence from the UN and independent sources. The war started in April 2023 and has caused what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Darfur communities face famine after an 18-month RSF siege around El Fasher. The UK sanctioned RSF leaders include Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, Hemedti’s brother and deputy, plus commanders Gedo Hamdan Ahmed, Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed. Some commanders posted videos glorifying killings, helping meet the evidence threshold for sanctions. The same four faced EU sanctions recently. The UK hinted more action may come depending on RSF's military moves. The UK Foreign Office said these individuals are "suspected of atrocities including mass killings, sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians in El Fasher, Sudan." British MPs were briefed that at least 60,000 people may have been killed after RSF took El Fasher. The UK will add £20 million more to aid agencies to help 150,000 people with food, medical care, shelter, hospital support, and family reunions. Total UK aid to Sudan this year is now £146 million. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The atrocities taking place in Sudan are so horrific they scar the conscience of the world. The overwhelming evidence of heinous crimes – mass executions, starvation and the systematic and calculated use of rape as a weapon of war – cannot and will not go unpunished. The UK will not look away, and we will always stand with the people of Sudan." The UK is not joining the main diplomatic group led by the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt, fearing it would force taking sides. The sanctions received support from the UK’s Darfur diaspora but also disappointment that the UAE escaped censure. Abdallah Abu Garda, chair of the UK-based Darfur Diaspora Association, stated: "The UK’s sanctions on senior RSF commanders are a vital step toward justice. But ending atrocity crimes in Sudan and the genocide in Darfur requires more. All supply lines that fuel these atrocities, including those enabled by the UAE, must be cut. True justice demands that every party, whether a direct perpetrator or an external sponsor, faces real consequences." Last week, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a UK-led resolution condemning the atrocities and calling for a quick inquiry into the crimes in El Fasher.