US to impose sanctions on Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
WASHINGTON —SUDANIANEWS
The Biden administration on Thursday imposed
sanctions on Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, just a week after sanctioning a rival general in the war-torn country.
Under Burhan’s leadership, the SAF has carried out attacks on civilians, including through airstrikes against schools, markets and hospitals, the Treasury Department said in a statement. It also accused the Sudanese army of using food deprivation as a war tactic, citing its “routine and intentional denial” of humanitarian access.
In addition to Burhan, the department also announced sanctions on a Hong Kong-based company and a Sudanese-Ukrainian national involved in weapons procurement for the SAF.
“Today’s action underscores our commitment to seeing an end to this conflict,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “The United States will continue to use our tools to disrupt the flow of weapons into Sudan and hold these leaders responsible for their blatant disregard of civilian lives.”
Last week, the Biden administration unveiled sanctions on Burhan’s rival, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. It also accused Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group of committing genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.
In December 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken formally determined that members of both the SAF and the RSF had committed war crimes in Sudan, and that the RSF and allied militias had carried out crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in West Darfur.
In his final press conference on Thursday, Blinken described “real regret” that he is leaving office with a war still raging in Sudan.
“We have been deeply engaged with our diplomacy to try to bring it to an end,” Blinken told reporters. “I hope the next administration will take that on.”
