US to impose sanctions on Sudan after finding government used chemical weapons
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will impose sanctions on Sudan after determining its government used chemical weapons in 2024 during the army's conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the State Department said on Thursday.
Measures against Sudan will include limits on U.S. exports and U.S. government lines of credit and will take effect around June 6, after Congress was notified on Thursday, Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
"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 Chemical Weapons Convention treaty banning the use of such weapons.
Sudan's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the army and the RSF, triggering mass displacement, famine and ethnically-driven killings.
Washington in January imposed sanctions on army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accusing him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict.
The U.S. has also determined members of the RSF and allied militias committed genocide and imposed sanctions on some of the group's leadership.
The New York Times reported in January, citing four senior U.S. officials, that the Sudanese army had used chemical weapons at least twice during the conflict.
Bruce's statement said the U.S. had formally determined on April 24 under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 that the government of Sudan used chemical weapons last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
37 minutes ago
- CNBC
Oil rises on Japan trade deal and stronger demand indicated by U.S. inventories
Oil prices steadied in early trading on Wednesday after falling for three consecutive sessions as a U.S. trade deal with Japan signaled progress on tariffs and a poll showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week, indicating stronger demand. Brent crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.48%, to $68.92 a barrel by 0023 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.51%, to $65.64 per barrel. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Japan had struck a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on U.S. imports from Japan. He also said Japan had agreed on $550 billion in investments in the U.S. Oil had fallen in the previous session after the EU said it was considering countermeasures against U.S. tariffs, as hope faded for a deal ahead of the August 1 deadline. And U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, along with distillate and gasoline inventories, an extended Reuters poll showed on Tuesday. Nine analysts polled by Reuters ahead of weekly inventory data estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 1.6 million barrels in the week to July 18. U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell last week while distillate inventories rose, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. In another bullish sign for the market, the U.S. energy secretary said on Tuesday that the U.S. would consider sanctioning Russian oil to end the war in Ukraine. The EU on Friday agreed its 18th sanctions package against Russia, lowering the price cap for Russian crude. But analysts said a lack of U.S. participation would hinder the effectiveness of the package.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
President Trump announces 'massive' trade deal with Japan that sets 15% tariff
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump says his economic team has secured a long-sought trade deal with Japan that will lower the steep tariffs the country faced under a looming Aug. 1 deadline. Trump said the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on Japanese imports under the agreement, which he hailed as "a massive deal" in a July 22 post on Truth Social. The tariff rate would be lower than the 24% tariff Trump had threatened on Japan. "I just signed the largest trade deal in history ‒ I think maybe the largest deal in history ‒ with Japan," Trump said Tuesday night during a White House reception with Republican lawmakers. More: Trump announces trade deal with Philippines and 19% tariff Japan is the fourth largest trading partner of the U.S. behind Canada, Mexico and China. Trump did not disclose the full details of the deal but said Japan would "invest $550 Billion Dollars into the United States," with the U.S. receiving 90% of the profits. He said Japan has also agreed to open its country to trade on products that include vehicles, rice and other agricultural products "This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan," Trump said. Trump officials had suggested being close to a deal with Japan ever since the president in April postponed sweeping reciprocal tariffs on goods from most countries. More: 'No extensions will be granted': Trump vows new tariff deadline is a firm one Since the April delay, the Trump administration has imposed a lower 10% universal tariff on goods from most countries including Japan. But Trump has set an Aug. 1 deadline for the higher tariff rates on some 170 countries to kick in. Speaking early on Wednesday in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he had received an initial report from his trade negotiator in Washington but declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiation. Trump's Japan announcement came after the president earlier in the day touted a new trade deal with the Philippines that coincided with the country's president, Ferdinand Marcos, visiting the White House. Trump's three other trade deals are with the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Indonesia. Contributing: Reuters Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Ex-Biden official says former prez should've ‘bowed out' after ‘Afghanistan debacle'
Former Department of Justice spokesman Anthony Coley argued during a panel on Monday that Biden should have dropped out of the 2024 race after the Afghanistan withdrawal, long before his infamous debate. Monday was the one-year anniversary of then-President Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential election, relinquishing the nomination to then-Vice President Kamala Harris. His son, Hunter Biden, also made headlines recently by offering views ranging from blasting Democratic Party elites to suggesting his father was on Ambien during the debate. 'I know exactly what happened in that debate,' Hunter said on the 'Channel 5' podcast this past weekend. 'He flew around the world, basically, the mileage that he could have flown around the world, three times. 'He's 81 years old. He's tired as s—. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep. He gets up on the stage. And he looks like he's a deer in the headlights. And it feeds into every f—ing story that anybody wants to tell.' An NBC news panel discussed both the interview and the Democratic Party's efforts to analyze what went wrong in the election. 4 U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Afghanistan during a speech in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 31, 2021. REUTERS 'A lot of things can be true here,' Coley, who is now an NBC News contributor, said. 'So he was 81 years old, and he did take two trips back and forth from Europe. I give him that. That's not why he lost the race, though.' 'You can have the best message in the world, you can have the best policy agenda in the world, but at the end of the day, if you don't have a trusted messenger, somebody that voters think can go the distance, somebody who has stamina, then you're gonna lose,' he continued. 'And that's what happened on the presidential level in 2024.' 4 Flag-draped transfer cases of U.S. military service members who were killed by an August 26 suicide bombing at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport line the inside of a C-17 Globemaster II prior to a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, U.S., August 29, 2021. VIA REUTERS 4 Coley argued that Biden could not recover after the 'Afghanistan debacle.' NBC 4 Former U.S. President Joe Biden at the presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., June 27, 2024. REUTERS He then argued that Biden's fate was sealed long before, and should have taken the hint to leave the race. 'I think what Hunter Biden didn't say is that people started losing confidence in Joe Biden – whom I love, who I worked for in his administration – right after the Afghanistan debacle,' he said. 'Do you remember that? It was August of 2022, like his polling never recovered after Afghanistan.' While the midterms that year gave Biden's team a degree of confidence, he said, the Afghanistan debacle was nonetheless 'the moment he really should have bowed out, and we should have had a robust primary process.'
