US Sanctions on Sudan Over Alleged Chemical Weapons Use Take Effect
Friday marked the start of sweeping US sanctions imposed on Sudan, following accusations that the Sudanese army deployed chemical weapons during its conflict against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The US State Department announced it had obtained credible evidence confirming the Sudanese government's use of lethal chemical and biological weapons against civilians, an act it described as a flagrant violation of international law.
Under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act, the sanctions immediately suspend nearly all US assistance to Sudan, excluding only emergency humanitarian aid.
The measures include an outright ban on defense-related sales and financing, the denial of access to any US government funding - including loans or credits from the Export-Import Bank - and restrictions on the export of sensitive goods and technologies tied to national security.
While humanitarian aid remains exempt, each case will undergo individual review. The sanctions also carve out exceptions for exports to civilian airlines and US businesses operating in Sudan. Officials indicated the measures would remain in place for at least a year, subject to renewal.
Last month, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce revealed that Washington had concluded Sudanese forces used chemical weapons earlier in 2024 and had formally notified Congress before enacting the penalties.
Sudanese authorities have so far issued no official response, though the Ministry of Information previously rejected the allegations as 'baseless political blackmail,' claiming that US interventions 'lack moral and legal foundation' and have eroded Washington's credibility in Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal war between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as 'Hemedti.' The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 13 million people, according to UN estimates.
In recent weeks, RSF units have subjected the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, to relentless artillery and drone attacks targeting army positions, resulting in heavy civilian casualties. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to Sudan's leadership to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire to allow aid deliveries to besieged areas.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has warned that the conflict is driving Sudan toward a humanitarian catastrophe. Fighting in Darfur and Kordofan has intensified, with all sides vying to secure territorial gains.
Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for African Affairs, briefed the Council, citing a surge in extrajudicial killings, sexual violence against women, child recruitment, and attacks on humanitarian workers.
She urged the Council to press for an immediate humanitarian truce in El Fasher to protect civilians and facilitate aid, while calling on the UN envoy to Sudan to use diplomatic leverage to de-escalate the crisis.
Diplomats from the UK, Russia, South Korea, and Greece also sounded alarms over the deteriorating humanitarian situation, noting that Sudan now faces the largest displacement crisis in Africa's recent history.
Sudan's UN representative defended government efforts to secure humanitarian corridors and support voluntary returns, stating that 350,000 families have already gone back to their homes in ten states.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
US sanctions on Sudan over alleged chemical weapons use take effect
US sanctions on Sudan's government -- imposed over what Washington says was the use by Khartoum's military of chemical weapons in the country's bloody civil war last year -- have taken effect. The sanctions -- which include restrictions on US exports, arms sales and financing to the government in Khartoum -- are to remain in place for at least one year, the US government said in a notice published Friday in the Federal Register. Assistance to Sudan will be terminated 'except for urgent humanitarian assistance and food or other agricultural commodities or products,' it said. However, certain measures will be partially waived because 'it is essential to the national security interests of the United States' to do so, it added. 'The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations' under the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty signed by nearly all countries that prohibits their use, the State Department said last month when it announced the sanctions. The New York Times reported in January that Sudan's military had used chemical weapons on at least two occasions in remote areas its war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Citing anonymous US officials, the newspaper said that the weapon appeared to be chlorine gas, which can cause severe respiratory pain and death. Khartoum has denied using chemical weapons. In practical terms, the effect will be limited as both Sudan's military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his adversary and former deputy, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, are already under US sanctions. A power struggle between the army and RSF erupted into full-scale war in April 2023 with devastating consequences for the already impoverished country. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 13 million, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Gazette
2 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Iran holds state funeral for slain military commanders and scientists
TEHRAN — Iran held a state funeral on Saturday for dozens of senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians killed during the 12-day war with Israel, which ended earlier this week in a US-brokered ceasefire. Thousands of mourners gathered near Tehran's Enghelab Square, where coffins draped in Iranian flags and adorned with portraits of the dead were paraded through the crowd. Authorities said 60 individuals, including top military and scientific figures, were buried. Government offices were closed, and free transportation was offered to encourage public attendance. Among the dead was Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's highest-ranking military officer and chief of staff of the armed forces. He was laid to rest alongside his wife and daughter, who were killed in an Israeli prominent figures buried included Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, head of Azad University in authorities said the overall death toll inside Iran reached 627 during the conflict, while Israeli officials reported 28 deaths following missile attacks launched by funeral was attended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Shamkhani sustained injuries in an earlier Israeli war, which saw U.S. forces intervene with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, has left diplomatic tensions at a boiling point.U.S. President Donald Trump said he would 'absolutely' consider future military action against Iran if intelligence suggested Tehran was enriching uranium to dangerous at the White House on Friday, Trump claimed he had been considering sanctions relief but abruptly abandoned the effort following what he called 'hostile' comments by Khamenei.'I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, 'and he does not have to say, 'thank-you, president Trump!''Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a sharp response, warning Trump to refrain from 'disrespectful' language toward Iran's supreme insisted that while Iranian nuclear sites suffered 'serious damage,' the strikes had 'achieved nothing significant.'The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, noted that the full extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear program remains stressed that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon 'will not be solved militarily,' and emphasized the need for diplomacy.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Uganda's president seeks a seventh term that would bring him closer to 5 decades in power
KAMPALA: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday sought nomination for a seventh term, a move that would bring him closer to five decades in power. Museveni, 80, has defied calls for his retirement, as critics warn that he as veered into authoritarianism with virtually no opposition even within his ruling National Resistance Movement party. He was welcomed by a large crowd of supporters as he went to collect nomination papers from the offices of the ruling party in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. Museveni first took power as head of a rebel force in 1986. He has since been elected six times, though recent elections have been marred by violence and allegations of vote rigging. His main opponent in the last election was the popular entertainer known as Bobi Wine, who has also declared his candidacy in the polls set for January 2026. Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has seen many associates jailed or go into hiding as security forces cracked down on opposition supporters. Museveni has dismissed Wine as 'an agent of foreign interests' who cannot be trusted with power. Wine has been arrested many times on various charges but has never been convicted. He insists he is running a nonviolent campaign. Decades ago, Museveni himself had criticized African leaders who overstayed their welcome in office. In Uganda, lawmakers did the same thing for him when they jettisoned the last constitutional obstacle — age limits — for a possible life presidency. His son, army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has asserted his wish to succeed his father, raising fears of hereditary rule. A long-time opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, has been jailed since November over alleged treason charges his lawyers say are politically motivated. Besigye, a physician who retired from Uganda's military at the rank of colonel, is a former president of the Forum for Democratic Change party, for many years Uganda's most prominent opposition group. The East African country has never seen a peaceful transfer of power since independence from Britain in 1962.
