The United Kingdom announced a new package of sanctions targeting gold trading networks and illicit financing in Sudan, in a move it said was aimed at cutting off sources of war funding. The sanctions included companies linked to the Sudanese army.
Britain imposed sanctions on three state-owned Sudanese mining companies it said were linked to army financing: Omdurman Mining Company, Ariab Mining Company, and Sudamin Limited.
The sanctions also targeted Ahmed Abdullah, a procurement official linked to the Sudanese army who is suspected of involvement in securing weapons, equipment, and financing for the army, according to the British statement. The sanctions likewise covered officials connected to the Rapid Support Forces.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper affirmed that London would continue to pursue parties fuelling the conflict in Sudan, stressing that "the Sudanese people are paying the price of a war that feeds not only on weapons and fighters, but also on illicit flows of gold and money."
Cooper said that "the new sanctions target Sudan's war economy and those who seek to profit from hidden, illegal networks." The European Union had pre-empted the British sanctions, having announced a new round of its own sanctions on Sudan days earlier, also targeting the gold trade.