Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on two Sudanese Islamist actors––Gebreil Ibrahim Mohamed Fediel (Gebreil) and the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade (BBMB)––for their involvement in Sudan’s brutal civil war and their connections to Iran. These sanctions aim to limit Islamist influence within Sudan and curtail Iran’s regional activities, which have contributed to regional destabilization, conflict, and civilian suffering. The United States remains committed to working with regional partners to achieve peace and stability in Sudan, ensuring that the country does not become a safe haven for those who threaten Americans and the national interests of the United States. Gebreil is Sudan’s Finance Minister and chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfuri armed group with historical links to Hassan al Turabi, the architect of Sudan’s Islamist revolution. JEM has contributed thousands of its followers to fight the RSF, leading to the destruction of Sudanese towns and the deaths and displacement of thousands of Sudanese civilians. Additionally, Gebreil has collaborated with the Iranian Government with the intent of strengthening political and economic ties and traveled to Tehran last November. Gebreil is being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14098, “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition,” for being a foreign person who is or has been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of JEM, an entity that has, or whose members have, been responsible for, or complicit in, or have directly or indirectly engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan relating to the tenure of such leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors. BBMB is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14098 for being a foreign person who is responsible for, or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan.
E.O. 14098 of May 4, 2023, among other things, authorizes the imposition of sanctions on foreign persons to address the situation in Sudan following the military’s seizure of power in October 2021 and the outbreak of inter-service fighting in April 2023, and to support a transition to democracy and civilian transitional government in Sudan.
