Washington
\nThe United States has decided to impose sanctions on Sudan after reaching the conclusion that the African country\u2019s government used chemical weapons during the ongoing conflict with paramilitary forces in 2024, the State Department said on Thursday.
\nThe punitive measures, due to take effect around June 6, include restrictions on US exports and government-backed financial support.
\nCongress was formally notified earlier in the day, said department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
\n\u201cThe United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the CWC,\u201d Bruce said, referring to the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
\nSudan\u2019s foreign ministry has not responded to the allegations.
\nThe determination follows a formal finding made on April 24 under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.
\nThe State Department did not specify which agents were used, or where and when the attacks occurred.
\nThe local media previously reported that Sudan\u2019s army deployed chemical weapons at least twice in 2024, using chlorine gas in remote regions of the country.
\nChlorine can cause severe and lasting damage to the human respiratory system and tissue.
\nThe war in Sudan began in April 2023 amid a violent power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), unleashing widespread ethnic violence and sparking the world\u2019s most severe humanitarian crisis.
\nThe conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 13 million people.
\nEarlier this year, the US sanctioned army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for his role in fuelling the war. Washington has also designated RSF members and allied militias as perpetrators of genocide and imposed sanctions on RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
\nA Sudanese diplomatic source dismissed the US sanctions as a diversion. \u201cThe intention here is to distract from the recent campaign in Congress against the UAE,\u201d the source said, criticising the US for not referring the chemical weapons allegations to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
\nSudan recently severed ties with the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of supplying weapons to the RSF and directly intervening in the war \u2014 claims the UAE has strongly denied.
\nThe conflict continues to deepen, with accusations of foreign interference, rising civilian casualties and famine gripping multiple regions of the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington The United States has decided to impose sanctions on Sudan after reaching the conclusion that the African country\u2019s government used chemical weapons during the ongoing conflict with paramilitary forces in 2024, the State Department said on Thursday. The punitive measures, due to take effect around June 6, include restrictions on US exports and government-backed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-480444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n