US sanction on Sudan has taken effect after the United States imposed fresh measures against the Sudanese government over allegations that it deployed chemical weapons against rival paramilitary forces during the country’s ongoing civil war.
The US State Department announced the additional sanctions on Monday, penalising Sudan’s military-backed administration for what Washington says was the use of chemical weapons in 2024. Although American officials have withheld specific details regarding the chemical agents involved, international media reports claim that two barrels containing chlorine gas were dropped during the conflict.
The US sanction on Sudan follows years of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a conflict that erupted in April 2023 and has generated widespread allegations of war crimes. The United States has also sanctioned RSF commanders over accusations of genocide in the Darfur region.
Last month, the State Department announced a second round of measures after determining that “the Government of Sudan used chemical weapons in 2024,” in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Khartoum ratified in 1999.
However, Washington has not disclosed where or when the alleged chemical attacks took place.
Sudan’s military-backed administration has repeatedly denied the allegations, dismissing them as “groundless” and describing the US sanction on Sudan as an act of “political blackmail.”
The latest sanctions, which took effect on Monday, impose tighter restrictions on Sudan’s access to international financing and US exports, while also banning Sudanese-owned airlines from operating within US airspace.
Backstory…
The latest US sanction on Sudan is the part of a months-long dispute between Washington and Sudan over allegations that the Sudanese military used chemical weapons during the country’s ongoing civil war.
The United States first announced punitive measures in 2025 after determining that Sudan had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention, before warning that additional sanctions would follow if Khartoum failed to meet conditions including international inspections and full compliance with its treaty obligations.
Sudan has consistently denied the allegations, describing the accusations as politically motivated and without credible evidence.
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Expected impact
Ordinary Sudanese citizens have historically borne the heaviest burden of the financial and economic sanctions placed on their nation.
Throughout decades of international trade restrictions, both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”) built massive personal fortunes by maneuvering around global banking networks, even as the broader economy collapsed.
Today, Sudan suffers from what the United Nations deems the most severe humanitarian disaster on Earth, leaving nearly 20 million people in conditions of acute hunger and food instability.
Aid workers estimate that the ongoing war has claimed more than 200,000 lives while subjecting civilian populations to widespread atrocities.
Meanwhile, Washington has spent years attempting to broker an end to the violence, including early joint efforts with Saudi Arabia to lead peace talks that ultimately failed to secure a lasting cease-fire.
More recently, it attempted to press for a three-month humanitarian cease-fire but was unable to bring the two sides together at all.
Despite the fact that they have spent the majority of their time in a stalemate, both sides appear to desire to extend the war in the hopes of achieving military success.
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