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.
