US imposes sanctions on both sides of Sudan conflict

The US announced sanctions against four defense companies and an unspecified number of Sudanese nationals on Thursday as the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces repeatedly violated a recent cease-fire agreement and peace talks collapsed.

“These measures are intended to hold accountable those responsible for undermining the peace, security and stability of Sudan,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Thursday, explaining that the sanсtion targets were chosen so as to deny both parties “the resources, funds and weapons that have enabled them to perpetuate this horrific conflict.”

Al Junaid Multi Activities Co. Ltd. and Tradive General Trading LLC, both affiliated with the RSF, and Defense Industries System and Sudan Master Technology, both affiliated with the SAF, were sanctioned by the Treasury Department. 

The State Department imposed visa restrictions on senior officials in the SAF and RSF as well as one-time leaders in the now-defunct government of Omar al-Bashir, whom Washington deems “responsible for or complicit in undermining Sudan’s democratic transition,” a senior administration official told reporters on Thursday. Bashir was president of Sudan for 26 years before his removal in a military coup in 2019.

The official warned that the White House “will not hesitate to take additional steps if the parties continue to destroy their country and thwart the resumption of a civilian transition.”

The US and Saudi Arabia also announced the suspension of peace talks the two countries had been hosting in Jeddah since last month, releasing a statement attributing their decision to “serious violations of the short-term ceasefire and recent ceasefire extension.” The Sudanese military pulled out of the talks on Wednesday.

Fighting between the two groups broke out in April over the terms of the RSF’s integration into the main Sudanese military. The US and Saudi Arabia negotiated a cease-fire on May 21 to allow humanitarian assistance and critical services to reach the population, though it was subsequently violated along with the six other cease-fires that had been declared since the start of the war.

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