U.S. to Impose Sanctions on Sudan Over Use of Chemical Weapons

The United States intends to impose new sanctions on Sudan’s military-led government after determining that it used chemical weapons last year, the State Department said on Thursday.

In a brief statement announcing the decision, the State Department offered little detail about where or how the weapons had been used, saying only that it had notified Congress of a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the international treaty that outlaws the production or use of chemical weapons.

But in January, The New York Times reported that Sudan’s military had used chemical weapons at least twice against the Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F., the powerful paramilitary group it is fighting for control of the country.

Then, senior U.S. officials told The Times that the military had used chlorine gas against R.S.F. troops in remote areas over the preceding months. They feared the weapons might be used in the capital, Khartoum, which at the time was divided between the warring sides.

The sanctions are expected to take effect June 6.

Sudan’s military-led government did not immediately respond to the announcement of the American sanctions, although it has vociferously denied using chemical weapons in the past. Last week, the military appointed a former United Nations official, Kamel Idris, as prime minister.

Many other Sudanese expressed skepticism about the American determination, largely because there had been no local news reports of chemical weapons use on the battlefield. Addressing that discrepancy, American officials said the weapons use had been small in scale, had taken place in remote areas and had not been very effective.

The chemical weapons accusation documents yet another line crossed in a catastrophic civil war that has seen countless atrocities. Since fighting started in April 2023, the conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people, forced 13 million people from their homes and led to widespread famine.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, although only the R.S.F. has been accused of genocide by the United States, which in January imposed sanctions on the group’s leader, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan.

A week later, the Biden administration also imposed sanctions on Sudan’s army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. At the time, American officials said privately that General al-Burhan had authorized the use of chemical weapons.

But they did not publicly disclose the use of chemical weapons until this week.

Under the new round of sanctions, the United States will restrict exports to Sudan and its access to U.S. government loans, the State Department said.

The statement called on Sudan to stop using chemical weapons and said the United States was committed to holding “to account those responsible for contributing to chemical weapons proliferation.”

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