The United States on Thursday laid out sweeping new penalties on General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army (SAF) after concluding that Burhan deployed chemical or biological weapons during fighting earlier this year, a breach that triggers mandatory measures under U.S. law.
The sanctions, which take effect on Friday, cut off most assistance to Sudan under the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, halt U.S. government loans and credits, ban sales of arms and sensitive dual-use technology, and direct Washington to oppose multilateral lending to Khartoum.
In a Federal Register notice, the senior official performing the duties of the under secretary for arms control said an April 24 determination found SAF forces had “used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law,” obliging the United States to impose the full menu of penalties required by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.
A State Department spokesperson said the measures will remain until Sudan “provides reliable assurances” it will not use such weapons again and allows international inspections. The spokesperson declined to specify which agents were allegedly employed, citing classified intelligence.
SAF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The SAF is locked in a 14-month civil war with the Rapid Support Forces that has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than nine million people, according to U.N. estimates.
The United States has previously sanctioned both Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over rights abuses, but Thursday’s action marks the first time Washington has invoked chemical-weapons legislation against Sudan’s junta since the conflict began.