Shadows of soldiers over the flag of Sudan, circa March 2024. The US government recently determined that the Sudanese government deployed chemical weapons in 2024, leading to increased sanctions. (Shutterstock/zmotions)

What New US Sanctions Mean for the Sudan Civil War

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The US determination that the Sudanese government used chemical weapons in 2024 probably won’t change the course of the conflict.

This month, the United States imposed a new package of sanctions on Sudan’s government following a 2025 US determination that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, used chemical weapons against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The sanctions themselves will have little practical effect on the SAF: Sudan has almost no US exports to lose, no active loans from international financial institutions, and no direct flights to the United States. But in Sudan, the word of the US government still holds value, and the Sudanese people are already building momentum to hold Burhan and his forces accountable for their war crimes.

American pressure on the SAF at this point in the war will further complicate US policy to end the war. 

The SAF and Burhan, after all, still enjoy the support of key US partners such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt. And the new sanctions build on measures announced earlier this year that targeted leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, a key faction within Burhan’s Sudanese coalition. Taken together, American pressure is increasing on the political and military base running the war in Sudan—even as its practical bite on the ground remains limited.

Washington’s imposition of this sanctions package derives from a US legal determination, issued on April 24, 2025 and published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2025, which concluded that Sudan’s government used chemical weapons during 2024 in violation of international law. Under the 1991 Congressional legislation known as the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act, Sudan was given a three-month window to take steps that would enable lifting the sanctions. 

However, Burhan did not take sufficient steps, obligating the United States to impose additional sanctions that took effect on July 20, 2026. These measures therefore stem from Sudan’s failure to meet the law’s........

© The National Interest