ALBAWABA- The United States has announced financial sanctions against Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, marking a significant escalation in international pressure on leaders of Sudan's ongoing civil war.
This decision, revealed Thursday by three sources to Reuters, comes just a week after similar measures were imposed on Burhan's rival, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The sanctions aim to demonstrate Washington’s neutrality in the conflict. According to sources, the measures against Burhan are based on allegations of targeting civilians and infrastructure, obstructing humanitarian aid, and refusing peace talks, including last year’s negotiations facilitated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
Burhan, addressing soldiers earlier Thursday, remained defiant. "I hear there’s going to be sanctions on the army leadership. We welcome any sanctions for serving this country," he said in a televised statement on Al Jazeera.
The Sudanese army and the RSF have not commented on the sanctions, nor have the U.S. State and Treasury Departments.
Sudan's civil war, which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and plunged half the population into hunger.
Initially allies in a 2021 coup that ousted Sudan’s civilian leadership, the army and RSF split over a failed integration plan, resulting in violent power struggles.
Burhan’s forces recently captured the strategic city of Wad Madani, vowing to retake the capital, Khartoum.
However, the army faces accusations of indiscriminate airstrikes and retaliatory attacks on civilians, including this week’s alleged atrocities in Wad Madani. The RSF, sanctioned last week for alleged genocide and atrocities, has also been implicated in mass looting.
Despite repeated U.S.-Saudi efforts to broker peace, including the Geneva talks in August, both sides have resisted negotiations, opting instead for military escalation.
Human rights groups and the U.S. government have accused both factions of committing war crimes during the ongoing conflict.
