The United States will impose sweeping new sanctions on Sudan after confirming the use of chemical weapons in its brutal civil war, the State Department announced Wednesday.
Effective June 6, the measures will restrict U.S. exports and limit financial borrowing capabilities, marking the latest international response to atrocities in the two-year conflict that has killed over 150,000 people.
While the State Department did not specify the chemical agents used, the New York Times previously reported Sudanese forces deployed chlorine gas – a banned substance under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) – in at least two attacks. The toxin causes severe respiratory damage and can be fatal.
“Sudan must cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its CWC obligations,” said spokesperson Tammy Bruce, noting nearly all nations except Egypt, North Korea, and South Sudan have joined the treaty.
The sanctions come amid mounting evidence of atrocities by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The U.S. previously sanctioned SAF leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for undermining democracy and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”) for genocide.
Over 12 million people are displaced, and 25 million – more than double London’s population – require food aid as fighting persists despite the SAF’s recent recapture of Khartoum.
The move coincides with heightened scrutiny of the United Arab Emirates’ alleged support for the RSF, which prompted Sudan to sever diplomatic ties this month. Congressional Democrats recently sought to block U.S. arms sales to the UAE over the claims, though a Sudanese diplomatic source told Reuters the new sanctions aim to “distract from pressure on Emirati allies.” The International Court of Justice recently rejected Sudan’s bid to sue the UAE for genocide.
With prior sanctions already crippling Sudan’s economy, analysts question the impact of fresh measures. “This signals moral condemnation more than material consequence,” said Atlantic Council fellow Cameron Hudson. Meanwhile, the RSF continues its siege of El Fasher, Darfur’s last SAF-held city, as the world’s worst displacement crisis deepens.
