LONDON

Britain has sanctioned four senior figures of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including the deputy leader of the paramilitary group, for the atrocities they committed in Sudan's El-Fasher, according to an official statement on Friday.

The sanctions came in response to the RSF's atrocities, including "heinous violence, including mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Those targeted include RSF deputy leader Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, who is also the brother of the group's leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti)​​​​​​​, as well as three others -- Gedo Hamdan Ahmed, RSF commander for North Darfur, another commander Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed, the group's field commander.

In the statement, the UK called for an immediate end to atrocities, the protection of civilians, and the removal of barriers to humanitarian access by all parties to the conflict.

The UK Foreign Office also said the country is stepping up its response to the crisis in Sudan, with an additional £21 million ($28 million) to provide food, shelter, health services, and protection for women and children in some of the hardest-to-reach areas.

On Oct. 26, the RSF seized El-Fasher and was accused of committing massacres against civilians, causing the displacement of more than 40,000 people, according to local and international reports.

The rebel group controls all five Darfur states out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including the capital Khartoum.

The civil war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.