(Reuters) – The US said Thursday it would impose sanctions on Sudan after it determined that it used chemical weapons during a conflict with paramilitary rapid support forces in 2024.
Actions against Sudan include restrictions on the U.S. government’s credit line and will take effect around June 6 after Congress was notified Thursday, State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
“The United States is urging the Sudan government to halt the use of all chemical weapons and to support its obligations under the CWC,” Bruce said, referring to the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty banning the use of such weapons.
In a statement, Sudan rejected the move and described the allegations as false.
“This moral or legal basisless interference will take away the rest of its credibility from Washington and close the door to any impact in Sudan,” government spokesman Khalid Al-Eisir said Friday.
The war in Sudan exploded from the power struggle between the Army and the RSF in April 2023, unleashing a wave of ethnic violence, creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and thrust several regions into hunger. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and approximately 13 million people have been evacuated.
In January, Washington imposed sanctions on Army Secretary Abdel Fatta al-Burhan, accusing him of choosing to war over negotiations to end the conflict.
The US also decided on members of the RSF, with the Allied Militia committing genocide and imposing sanctions on some of the group’s leadership, including General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF leader known as Hemedti.
The New York Times reported in January that Sudanese troops used chemical weapons at least twice during the conflict and deployed weapons to remote areas of the country, citing four U.S. officials.
Two officials who were described in the matter said chemical weapons appear to be using chlorine gas, which could cause permanent damage to human tissue, the New York Times reported at the time.
Bruce’s statement said the US officially decided on April 24 under the 1991 Chemical and Bioweapon Control and War Elimination Act.
“The United States is totally dedicated to explaining whoever contributes to the growth of chemical weapons,” Bruce said.
“The intention here is to distract us from a recent campaign in Parliament against the UAE,” a Sudanese diplomatic source said.
Sources said the US may have gone to the organization to ban chemical weapons to investigate the claims and failed to do so.
The Sudanese government is on par with the Army.
He said this month it cut diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates and that the Gulf Power is helping the RSF provide advanced weapons in the catastrophic conflict that emerged after differences of opinion over the integration of the two forces.
The UAE denies the allegations and says it supports humanitarian and peace efforts.
Democrats in the US Congress called for the sale of arms to the United Arab Emirates last Thursday to block alleged involvement in the war.
Sudan said this week that the UAE was in charge of an attack on Port Sudan this month, for the first time condemning the Gulf state for direct military intervention in the war.
The UAE denied the allegations in a statement and said it condemned the attack.
