US sanctions Sudan for alleged use of chemical weapons

The US has imposed new airspace bans and financing restrictions on Sudan's military-led government, accusing it of using chemical weapons in its war against rival RSF paramilitaries, reports RFI. According to the US authorities, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was aware that chemical weapons had been used against RSF paramilitaries in 2024, in breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention, that Sudan ratified in 1999. The latest sanctions, which came into effect on Monday, restrict Sudan's access to US financing and exports and ban Sudanese state-owned airlines from using US airspace. Washington has not said where or when the attacks took place or identified the chemicals used. Sudan's army-aligned government rejected the allegations, calling them ‘unilateral and illegal’ and ‘baseless’. Last year, The New York Times, citing four anonymous senior US officials, said the chemical agent used, with the direct approval of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was chlorine.