The US will impose sanctions on Sudan after determining its government used chemical weapons last year during the army's conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the State Department said on Thursday.
Measures against Sudan will include limits on US exports and lines of credit, and will take effect about June 6, after Congress was notified on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
"The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the CWC [Chemical Weapons Convention]," Ms Bruce said.
Ms Bruce said the US had formally determined on April 24 under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 that the government of Sudan used chemical weapons last year.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed, said the US sanctions against the Sudanese military "set the record straight".
"There is no solution except an immediate cessation of hostilities and a political process leading to an independent civilian government," Dr Gargash said in a post on X.
The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the army and the RSF, leading to mass displacement, famine and ethnically driven killings.
Washington in January imposed sanctions on army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, accusing him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict.
The US has also determined members of the RSF and allied militias committed genocide, and imposed sanctions on some of the group's leadership.
The New York Times reported in January, quoting four senior US officials, that the Sudanese army had used chemical weapons at least twice during the conflict.
