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Sudan’s government has officially entered another period of strained relations with the United States, as sweeping sanctions targeting the country’s military rulers have taken effect. These punitive measures, rolled out by Washington, come in response to credible allegations that Sudan’s army used chemical weapons during its bloody conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in 2023.
While Khartoum vehemently denies the claims, the damage to its international standing is already profound.
The US government, in a Federal Register notice issued Friday, confirmed that all non-humanitarian aid to Sudan will be suspended. This includes financing, military sales, and US exports, forming a comprehensive economic and diplomatic blockade aimed at pressuring the regime to comply with international law.
The heart of the sanctions lies in allegations that the Sudanese army used chlorine gas during battles in remote parts of the country last year. The reported attacks came amid intense urban and rural clashes with the RSF, a group that splintered from government control and turned into a rival power.
Though details remain murky and Khartoum denies any deployment of chemical agents, the US State Department invoked Sudan’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention—a global treaty banning such arms—as grounds for the sanctions. According to unnamed US intelligence sources, at least two separate incidents involved chemical weapons, with victims experiencing acute respiratory damage consistent with chlorine exposure.
The use of chemical agents in modern warfare remains a red line globally, particularly for signatory nations like Sudan. Washington's decision to act reflects a firm policy stance: any government using banned weapons risks severe consequences.
Although the sanctions are extensive, they are not absolute. Humanitarian aid—such as food supplies, urgent medical relief, and agricultural goods—will still be permitted. The US government acknowledged that national security interests may require selective waivers, a nod to the complex geopolitical balance in the Horn of Africa.
The Biden administration is maintaining some degree of engagement in the region, but firmly on its own terms. These partial waivers are crafted to ensure the US can still respond to regional instability without giving the Sudanese military a free pass.
It is important to note that both of Sudan’s key power players—army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo—are already on the US sanctions list for previous human rights violations. The fresh measures now further isolate the ruling junta and signal Washington’s diminishing patience with the stalled peace process.
Sudan's civil war, which erupted in April 2023, has turned cities into war zones and rural regions into graveyards. Tens of thousands have been killed, and over 13 million displaced in what the United Nations describes as the most acute humanitarian emergency on the planet. Amid rising famine, ethnic killings, and widespread sexual violence, the sanctions reflect growing global frustration at the apparent impunity with which both sides are operating.
The United States has placed the responsibility squarely on Khartoum’s leadership, demanding not only an end to chemical weapons use but full accountability for war crimes. Whether that pressure will lead to a change in military conduct or deepen the regime’s intransigence remains to be seen.
As the international community watches, Sudan continues to unravel—caught between two rival warlords and burdened by a devastated economy, collapsing infrastructure, and now, even fewer allies on the global stage.
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