The United States will impose sanctions on Sudan after determining that the country’s government used chemical weapons during its ongoing civil war, the State Department confirmed late Thursday.
According to the department’s spokesperson Tammy Bruce, the sanctions, set to take effect around June 6, will include restrictions on U.S. exports to Sudan and the suspension of U.S. government-backed lines of credit.
The decision comes after a formal notification to the U.S. Congress and it is based on an agreement made under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 which Sudan is expected to comply with.
“The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention,” Bruce said in a statement.
The Sudanese government has not responded to the allegations at the time of this report.
The ongoing war in Sudan which began in April 2023 is between the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The conflict has devastated the country, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, displacing approximately 13 million people, and creating what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Earlier reports by The New York Times in January cited four senior U.S. officials who said the Sudanese army had deployed chemical weapons, believed to include chlorine gas, on at least two occasions in remote areas.
Chlorine gas exposure can severely damage human tissue and the respiratory system.
Bruce did not disclose the exact timing, location, or type of chemical weapons used but affirmed the U.S. is committed to holding accountable those responsible for chemical weapons proliferation.
The latest move adds to a series of U.S. sanctions since the war began. In January, the United States sanctioned Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for obstructing peace talks.
Sanctions have also been levied against RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and other RSF affiliates, whom the U.S. has accused of committing acts of genocide.
Reuters reports that a Sudanese diplomatic source criticized the U.S. announcement, calling it a political distraction from a separate congressional push targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over its alleged involvement in the Sudan conflict.
The source argued that the U.S. should have sought an investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) before taking unilateral action.
Earlier this month, Sudan cut diplomatic ties with the UAE, accusing the Gulf nation of supplying the RSF with advanced weapons and even directly participating in a recent attack on Port Sudan.
The UAE has denied any involvement, insisting it supports peace and humanitarian efforts.
