Australia has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on four prominent Sudanese figures and a military-aligned armed group, joining international measures against leadership factions driving the war-torn country’s civil conflict.
Four Sudanese figures and a military-aligned group face travel bans and asset freezes under restrictions announced on November 5, 2026. The measures target Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, West Darfur’s de facto governor Al-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum, and RSF commander Hussein Barsham. Canberra also applied financial penalties to the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade, an armed faction aligned with Sudan’s military, Businessinsider reported.
Australia Penalizes Sudan Leaders
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that the measures fall under the nation’s Magnitsky-style human rights framework, restricting financial dealings and barring the designated individuals from entering Australia. The Al-Baraa bin Malik battalion was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization by the United States in March 2026, Wansom reported.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have committed serious human rights violations and abuses, including attacks on civilians, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and extrajudicial killings,
Minister Penny Wong
Wong added that those responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses must be held to account.
Washington sanctioned Dagalo on January 7, 2025, and al-Burhan nine days later, while Canada imposed similar restrictions in March 2025, Businessinsider reported.
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
Civil war erupted on April 15, 2023. According to Australia’s foreign ministry figures cited by Businessinsider, the conflict has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced more than 14 million people, and left nearly 34 million citizens requiring humanitarian aid.
Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates that Sudan’s humanitarian response secured an estimated US$6.23 billion between 2023 and November 2026, breaking down into US$1.32 billion in 2023, US$1.8 billion in 2024, US$1.67 billion in 2025, and US$1.44 billion in 2026. By November 5, 2026, the year’s response plan had reached only about half of its US$2.87 billion requirement, Businessinsider reported.
Australia unequivocally condemns violence against civilians and humanitarian personnel,
Minister Penny Wong
Wong issued an appeal for an immediate halt to hostilities: We call on all parties to the conflict to agree to an immediate and permanent ceasefire, to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel, and to allow and facilitate full, safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Sudan’s humanitarian response secured US$1.32 billion in 2023.