THE US government has imposed sanctions on the head of Sudan’s army and de facto president, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the treasury department said.
He has been leading one of the two sides in the 21-month civil war that has killed tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
In a brief statement, the US accused Gen Burhan of “destabilizing Sudan and undermining the goal of a democratic transition”.
The announcement follows reports of the killing of civilians in the central city of Wad Madani in recent days, however this was not mentioned in the statement.
Last week, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary group fighting the army, was also sanctioned by the US.
The US accused Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing genocide during the conflict.
In announcing the sanctions on Burhan on Thursday, Washington said that the army under his command “has committed lethal attacks on civilians” including targeting “schools, markets and hospitals”.
The US also alleges that the army is “responsible for the routine and intentional denial of humanitarian access, using food deprivation as a war tactic”.
During the first year of the conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the army had committed war crimes.
Earlier, Gen Burhan ordered an investigation into allegations that his troops carried out widespread atrocities after recapturing the capital of Gezira state from their paramilitary rivals.
His move came after widespread concern that civilians – including foreign nationals – were killed after the seizure of Wad Madani.
