Senior Sudanese commanders implicated in a “campaign of rape” have been targeted by the UK on the first anniversary of a mass atrocity that saw tens of thousands of civilians killed over several days.

A year after the fall of El Fasher , the British government said it had sanctioned military leaders from both sides in the country’s ongoing conflict whom it suspected of sexual violence during the siege of the city.

A total of 15 commanders from the military groups – the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – have been subjected to a travel ban and an asset freeze .

The Foreign Office said it hoped the action would ensure “the horrors that took place at El Fasher will be known to the world”.

During the RSF’s takeover of the city, up to 10,000 men, women and children are believed to have been slaughtered over two days – the fastest and largest massacre of civilians this century .…