For its use of chemical weapons… Washington announces details of sanctions on SAF

The United States announced, on Thursday, details regarding the sanctions imposed on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for its use of internationally prohibited chemical weapons.

 

The US Administration explained that the aforementioned sanctions, which take effect on Friday, include assistance provided to Sudan under the Foreign Assistance Act of (1961), arms sales, arms sales financing, government financing, and exports of goods and technology sensitive to national security.

 

The Administration added that, pursuant to sections 5604(a), 5605(a), and 5605(d), on (April 24th, 2025), the senior official serving as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security determined that the Sudanese Army had used chemical or biological weapons, in violation of International Law, or lethal chemical or biological weapons against civilians.

 

The US sanctions imposed on the Sudanese Army included foreign assistance, by terminating assistance allotted for Sudan under the Foreign Assistance Act of (1961), with the exception of urgent humanitarian assistance and food or other agricultural goods or products.

 

The senior official serving as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security determined that waiving this restriction is necessary for the national security interests of the United States.

 

The US sanctions include in addition arms sales -by terminating the sale of any defense materials, defense services, or design and construction services to Sudan under the Arms Export Control Act- as well as export licenses for any item on the US Munitions List (USML) to Sudan.

 

Furthermore, the senior official serving as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security determined that its rather necessary for the national security interests of the United States to partially waive this sanction to allow for case-by-case determinations of licenses or other authorizations for defense materials and services to entities other than Sudan, for the purposes described under Section 126.1(v) of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

 

The resolution terminated all foreign military financing to Sudan under the Arms Export Control Act and prohibited the granting of US government credit or other financial assistance by refusing to grant Sudan any credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance from any department, agency, or apparatus of the US government, including the Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).

 

In addition to prohibiting exports of goods and technology sensitive national security, Washington imposed sanctions prohibiting the export -to Sudan- of any goods or technology controlled for national security reasons and listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL) established under Title 50 of the United States Code, Section 4813(a)(1).

 

The U.S. decision exempts the licensing of export and re-export of national government-controlled goods or technology from the (CCL) under the GOV, ENC, BAG, TMP, RPL, TSU, and ACE licensing exceptions, as described in Part 740 of Title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Export and re-export of national government-controlled goods or technology may be licensed under new licenses when necessary for the safety of flight of fixed-wing civil passenger aircraft, provided that such licenses are issued in accordance with Sudan’s export licensing policy prior to the designation date. Export and re-export of goods or technology may be licensed under new licenses for deemed exports/re-exports to Sudanese nationals, provided that such licenses are issued in accordance with Sudan’s export licensing policy prior to the designation date.

 

The aforementioned measures are implemented by the relevant departments and agencies of the United States government and will remain in effect for at least one year until further notice.