The United States has decided to impose sanctions on Sudan after reaching the conclusion that the African country's 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 financial support.
Congress was formally notified earlier in the day, said department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
“The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the CWC,” Bruce said, referring to the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
Sudan’s foreign ministry has not responded to the allegations.
The determination follows a formal finding made on April 24 under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.
The State Department did not specify which agents were used, or where and when the attacks occurred.
The local media previously reported that Sudan’s army deployed chemical weapons at least twice in 2024, using chlorine gas in remote regions of the country.
Chlorine can cause severe and lasting damage to the human respiratory system and tissue.
The 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’s most severe humanitarian crisis.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 13 million people.
Earlier 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.
A Sudanese diplomatic source dismissed the US sanctions as a diversion. “The intention here is to distract from the recent campaign in Congress against the UAE,” the source said, criticising the US for not referring the chemical weapons allegations to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Sudan recently severed ties with the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of supplying weapons to the RSF and directly intervening in the war — claims the UAE has strongly denied.
The conflict continues to deepen, with accusations of foreign interference, rising civilian casualties and famine gripping multiple regions of the country.
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