The United States has imposed a fresh round of sanctions on Sudan, accusing the country’s government of using chemical weapons during its ongoing conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The sanctions, announced by the US State Department and effective from Monday, follow Washington’s earlier determination that Sudan violated the Chemical Weapons Convention by deploying chemical weapons in 2024 which Sudan ratified the convention in 1999.
Although US officials have not disclosed the exact locations or dates of the alleged attacks, international media reports previously claimed that chlorine gas was used during military operations in 2024.
The latest sanctions further restrict Sudan’s access to US financing and exports while also banning Sudan-owned aircraft from operating in American airspace.
Sudan’s army-backed government has rejected the allegations, describing them as politically motivated and without evidence.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has triggered widespread accusations of war crimes.
The United States has already sanctioned several RSF commanders over allegations of genocide in the Darfur region.
Media investigations published last year by The New York Times and France 24 alleged that the Sudanese military carried out at least two chemical attacks during the conflict.
The reports, citing US officials and open-source evidence, claimed chlorine gas was dropped from aircraft around the al-Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum in September 2024, when the area was under RSF control.
The Sudanese military has consistently denied those claims.
This is not the first time Sudan has faced accusations of using chemical weapons.
In 2016, Amnesty International accused government forces of carrying out chemical attacks against civilians in Darfur, allegations Khartoum also dismissed.
Relations between Sudan and the United States have remained strained for decades.
Sanctions imposed during the rule of former President Omar al-Bashir were eased after his removal in 2019 but were partially reinstated following the 2021 military coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemeti.
By January 2025, Washington had sanctioned both Burhan and Hemeti over their roles in the conflict.
The war has created what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Nearly 20 million people are facing acute food shortages, while aid organisations estimate that more than 200,000 people have been killed since fighting erupted.
Despite repeated diplomatic efforts by the United States, including ceasefire talks hosted with Saudi Arabia and proposals for a humanitarian truce, both sides have continued fighting, each hoping to secure a military victory.
AFP.
