Background of 4 Sudanese targeted for UN sanctions

April 25, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — The U.N. Security Council imposed travel and financial sanctions on Tuesday on four Sudanese held responsible for atrocities or violating a cease-fire in the Darfur region.

The four are:

— Gaffar Mohamed El-Hassan, former commander of the Sudanese air force’s western region. Security Council diplomats said he had direct operational command of Sudan’s army in Darfur from 2004-2006. He is said to have coordinated operations between government forces and the pro-government Janjaweed militia that resulted in attacks, killings and rape on non-Arab villages. He also supplied arms to the militia.

— Sheikh Musa Hilal, chief of the Jalul tribe in North Darfur, the region’s largest Arab tribe. He is a Janjaweed leader the diplomats say is behind some of the worst atrocities. His militia is blamed for storming countless villages, raping, robbing and burning homes. He was jailed in 1997 for killing 17 people, said the envoys.

— Adam Yacub Shant, a commander in the rebel Sudan Liberation Army. The diplomats say he violated a Darfur cease-fire in July 2005 by ordering his soldiers to attack government forces. Three soldiers were killed.

— Gabril Abdul Kareem Badri, a rebel commander in the National Movement for Reform and Development. Diplomats say he kidnapped members of the African Union force in Darfur in October and in November threatened to shoot down AU helicopters.

(Reuters)