Port-Sudan, Sudan
Wednesday July 16, 2025
On Saturday June 28, 2025, US authorities imposed sanctions against the Sudanese government for its use of chemical weapons in its war against paramilitaries, according to official documents.
Last May, the US State Department accused Sudan of using chemical weapons in 2024.
This is not the first time that this African country, politically unstable since its independence in 1956, has been the target of such accusations.
– Washington’s accusations –
In a notice dated Friday, the State Department confirmed the entry into force of sanctions on the Sudanese government for at least one year, with the exception of emergency humanitarian aid and agricultural products.
“The Sudanese government used its chemical weapons in 2024”, the State Department had accused in a statement published on May 22, without specifying places or dates.
According to Washington, Sudan is thus violating the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which it ratified in May 1999.
The Sudanese government has denied these accusations, which are “without proof” and “unfounded”.
Planned sanctions include restrictions on access to US government credit and limitations on US exports to Sudan.
– Persistent suspicions
In January, the New York Times, citing four anonymous American official sources, wrote that the Sudanese army had used chemical weapons on at least two occasions in its war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The chemical agent used with the direct approval of the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, was chlorine, according to these sources quoted by the newspaper.
In 2016, Amnesty International had already accused the armed forces of having carried out at least 30 chemical attacks in the Darfur region, during an offensive against the rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA-AN).
At the time, Khartoum denied all allegations. Amnesty requested an investigation by the United Nations, but to no avail.
In 1998, the United States claimed that the al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum was producing chemical components for al-Qaeda, before bombing the site. Washington never substantiated its accusations, which were never investigated.
– Two years of bloody conflict
The war that has torn Sudan apart since April 2023 has left tens of thousands dead and over 13 million displaced. According to the UN, it is “the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today”.
The conflict arose from the rivalry between General al-Burhane and his former right-hand man, General Daglo, who briefly allied to remove civilians from power and form a military transition after the fall of President Omar el-Bechir in 2019.
– Stormy diplomatic relations with the United States-
Relations between Sudan and the United States were strained under the regime of Omar el-Bechir, who came to power in 1993 with the support of the Islamists and was accused of supporting terrorism.
US sanctions imposed in the early 90s were tightened in 2006-2007, following accusations of “genocide” in the Darfur region.
The fall of Omar el-Bechir was accompanied by a certain warming until the generals’ war again ravaged the country.
In January, the United States imposed financial sanctions on the two main players in the conflict: RSF leader general Mohamed Daglo, accused of “genocide”, and his rival, the army chief, accused of targeting civilian infrastructure and using “food deprivation as a tactic of war”.
Washington was Sudan’s biggest donor in 2024, contributing 45% of the $1.8 billion mobilized by the UN’s humanitarian response plan.
In January, the Trump administration suspended most foreign aid for 90 days, authorizing only vital emergency programs.
US exports to Sudan accounted for $56.6 million in 2024, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
Humaniterre with AFP
