The US will cut exports to Sudan and cut government credit lines after determining weapons banned in the conflict between government forces and the RSF.
The US will impose sanctions on Sudan last year after determining that the country’s military used chemical weapons while fighting paramilitaries.
“The United States is urging the Sudan government to halt all chemical weapons and support its obligation,” U.S. State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said in a statement Thursday under the Chemical Weapons Treaty.
Bruce said the US Congress has been notified of the State Department’s decision and that sanctions will be imposed around June 6th.
These include restrictions on US exports to Sudan and blockades regarding access to US government lines of credit. Bruce’s statement did not include details on when and where the chemical weapons were used by Sudanese government forces.
The New York Times reported in January that government forces used chemical weapons against the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at least twice in remote areas in Sudan. The report cited an unknown US official who said the weapon could be chlorine gas.
The Sudanese army and the RSF have been trapped in civil war since April 2023 after a power struggle between the two sides.
The conflict has created hunger, killing thousands and expelling 13 million people, one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, and creating hunger throughout Sudan.
The US previously accused the RSF and its allies of committing genocide and approved General Mohamed Hamdan Dagallo, a top leader like the RSF Head.
In January, the US also confirmed Abdel Fatta al-Burhan, Sudan’s military chief and de facto head of state, for refusing to participate in international peace negotiations.
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