The United States announced on Thursday that it will impose new sanctions on Sudan following a determination that the country’s military used chemical weapons during its ongoing civil war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as per Al Jazeera.
“The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention,” US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Sanctions are expected to take effect around June 6 and will include restrictions on US exports to Sudan as well as a ban on access to US government credit lines. The State Department did not specify when or where the chemical weapons were deployed but confirmed that Congress has been formally notified of the decision.
The announcement follows a January investigation by The New York Times, which reported that Sudanese government forces used chemical weapons — possibly chlorine gas — on at least two occasions in remote areas of the country. The gas can cause severe respiratory distress and can be lethal.
Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF. The brutal conflict has since spiraled into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with thousands dead and over 13 million people displaced. The country now faces widespread famine and total economic collapse.
The United States has previously accused the RSF of committing acts of genocide and has imposed sanctions on RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. In January, Washington also sanctioned Sudan’s military chief and de facto head of state, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, for obstructing international peace negotiations.
The new sanctions underscore Washington’s increasing frustration with both sides of the conflict and its growing alarm over alleged war crimes, including the reported use of banned chemical agents.
