United States has imposed sanctions on Sudan’s army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for giving war priority over peace efforts that have caused brutal conflict with a death toll in tens of thousands and displaced millions. The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against Burhan, pointing out his role in the tactics by the army: indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, targeting schools, markets, hospitals, and extrajudicial executions.
The sanctions are the latest in a string of measures that Washington has taken against Burhan’s rival, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The US actions aim to demonstrate that Washington is not siding with either faction in the ongoing conflict.
Burhan shrugged his shoulders and boasted that he welcomed sanctions, as they would do good for his country. In addition, the US obliged sanctions on entities involved in supplying weapons to the Sudanese army. It froze their US assets and restricted Americans from dealing with them.
The two factions that make up Sudan’s military were once united, as in the 2021 coup when they ousted the country’s civilian leadership, but it has grown more intense to result in all-out war as of April 2023. It has only heightened the humanitarian situation as hunger reaches half of the population of Sudan. US and Saudi efforts at holding peace talks have proven fruitless as the army pursues its military operation, and on Wednesday captured Wad Madani, the key city in Gezira Province.
Rights groups and locals have accused the army of untargeted aerial bombardments and revenge attacks that have worsened the suffering of Sudanese civilians. The war remains unresolved even though there are some successes in delivering humanitarian aid.
