US says it will impose sanctions on Sudan after alleged use of chemical weapons

The Trump administration accuses the military-led Sudanese government of using the prohibited weapons during their civil war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The US has announced new sanctions on Sudan after accusing the military-run government of using chemical weapons last year against its opponents in the ongoing civil war. In a statement released on Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the Sudanese junta had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). "The United States calls on the government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the CWC," she said in a statement. Under the terms of the CWC, signatories must destroy their stockpiles of chemical weapons. Bruce did not give details about where and when the banned weapons are alleged to have been used. However, the New York Times reported earlier this year, citing senior US officials, that Sudanese government forces had reportedly used chlorine gas to strike the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in remote parts of the country.The latest round of US sanctions, which is expected to come into effect around 6 June, will include restrictions on American exports to Sudan and access to US government loans. In January, the US sanctioned the RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, whose forces and proxies have been accused of committing genocide during the civil war.Then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time that the RSF and its allied militias had murdered people and carried out sexual violence against women based on ethnicity. A week later, the Biden administration also sanctioned Hemedti's main rival, the country's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, whose soldiers are also alleged to have committed war crimes. Sudan's civil war started in April 2023 after an alliance between al-Burhan and Hemedti broke down, rapidly turning into a violent power struggle. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of the violence. Famine is rife in the country, with aid workers describing Sudan as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.