US aims sanctions at Sudan after reported chemical weapons use in civil war | Stars and Stripes
U.S. soldiers react to a simulated chemical attack at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, May 14, 2025. The State Department announced Thursday that Sudan will be put under U.S. sanctions as a result of reports that it used chemical weapons in its ongoing civil war. (Matthew Masani/U.S. Army)
The U.S. is imposing sanctions on Sudan over reports that it used chemical weapons against rebel forces during the African country’s ongoing civil war, the State Department said this week.
The sanctions include restrictions on American exports and access to U.S. government lines of credit. They will go into effect on or around June 6, an agency statement Thursday said.
The Sudanese military used what is believed to have been chlorine gas at least twice against paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces, The New York Times reported on Jan. 16, citing senior U.S. officials.
Sudan has been locked in a bloody civil war with the rival group since April 2023.
The war has claimed upward of 150,000 lives and displaced over 10 million, the Times report said.
On Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce called on Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has stepped up its military involvement in other parts of Africa in recent months.
Friday marked the scheduled end of U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercise on the continent, African Lion. This year’s edition, held across northern and western Africa, featured over 10,000 troops from 40 nations.
AFRICOM is also on pace this year to exceed the record 63 strikes launched against Islamic State fighters in Somalia in 2019; there were 25 as of May 8.
On Monday, acting chief of naval operations Adm. James Kilby said the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group recently launched more than 125,000 pounds of munitions into Somalia to fight the militant group.
