The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities, including Raipur-based SBL Energy Limited and its CEO Alok Choudhari, accusing them of supplying explosives, weapons and logistical support that allegedly fuelled the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the sanctioned networks enabled both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to expand and intensify the conflict in Sudan.

Among those sanctioned is Alok Choudhari of Raipur, Chief Executive Officer of SBL Energy Limited, also known as Amin Explosive Private Limited. According to the US Treasury Department, the company supplied more than 200 shipments of explosives and explosive-related materials to Sudan-based Target Multiactivities Company (TMAC), which maintained the SAF's arsenal. The department alleged the explosives were later used in bombs deployed by the SAF.

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on SBL Energy Limited, TMAC, its general manager and senior Defense Industries System (DIS) official Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani, along with several firms based in Sudan and Egypt.

"These networks supply weapons, explosives, and foreign fighters to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. Their support has prolonged a conflict that has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis and provided space for terrorist groups to operate," Tommy Pigott, spokesperson of the US Department of State, said in a statement.

According to the Treasury Department, DIS is Sudan's largest defence enterprise and supports and maintains the SAF's arsenal of arms, ammunition, vehicles and military equipment, much of it acquired from Iran and other external backers.

The department said DIS controls numerous subsidiaries, including Giad Industrial Group, also known as Sudan Master Technology, through complex corporate structures that have generated billions of dollars. It alleged that DIS's procurement of military equipment enabled the SAF to sustain combat operations against the RSF, launch attacks on civilians, and obstruct ceasefire efforts. Both DIS and Giad were sanctioned by the US in 2023.

OFAC also designated Ports Engineering Company Ltd, a state-owned civil engineering firm based in Port Sudan. Linked to Sudan Master Technology, the company allegedly imported military uniforms, footwear, ammunition belts and weapons cases for Sudanese intelligence from suppliers in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey after the conflict began in April 2023.

The sanctions further targeted individuals linked to a transnational recruitment network accused of deploying former Colombian military personnel to fight alongside the RSF.

The network, led by retired Colombian officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and his wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, had previously been sanctioned by Washington.

US authorities also blacklisted three executives associated with Panama-based Talent Bridge SA, a company allegedly used to conceal the recruitment operation. Those sanctioned include Panamanian nationals Enrique Daniel Palacios Quintanilla and Jack Peter Derman Guzman, and Colombian national Fredy Alejandro Lopez Ocampo.