New US sanctions target Sudan's warring military leader
New US sanctions target Sudan's warring military leader
Share:
The U.S. imposed sanctions on the leader of Sudan's military Thursday, saying he was blocking humanitarian aid and bombing hospitals, schools and markets in a war against an armed rival that has created a widening famine and the world's largest displacement crisis.
The sanctions that the Treasury Department announced against Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and separate sanctions announced Thursday over North Korea's alleged forced labor for profit abroad, were among the last efforts by the outgoing Biden administration to use financial penalties to shape the behavior of foreign actors.
The newly announced penalties follow U.S. sanctions imposed this month on Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, head of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Burhan's adversary in a nearly 2-year-old war. Fighting between the forces of Burhan and Mousa exploded in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023 and spread to other areas. The conflict has been marked by atrocities, including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the U.N. and rights groups. Both sides are accused of blocking desperately needed aid to civilians.
In all, the power struggle has killed more than than 24,000 people and driven over 14 million people — about 30% of the population — from their homes, according to the United Nations. An estimated 3.2 million Sudanese have crossed into neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.
