U.S. Sanctions Sudanese Government Over Chemical Weapons Use Against Rapid Support Forces Led by Hemetti

U.S. authorities imposed sanctions on the Sudanese government, citing its use of chemical weapons in the war waged against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary led by Hemetti, according to Jeune Afrique.

“In 2003, the conflict in Darfur erupted”

Amnesty International France

Jeune Afrique said the U.S. State Department had already accused Khartoum of using chemical weapons in 2024 and that Washington reiterated the entry into force for at least one year of sanctions, with exceptions for emergency humanitarian aid and agricultural products.

Amnesty International France

The Jeune Afrique account also says the State Department alleged on May 22 that "The Sudanese government used its chemical weapons in 2024," and that Khartoum denied these accusations "without evidence" and "without basis".

Jeune Afrique further links the sanctions to alleged violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which it says Sudan ratified in May 1999, and it adds that the sanctions include restrictions on access to U.S. government credit and restrictions on U.S. exports to Sudan.

Dabanga Radio TV Online reports that participants at the Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), held in Banjul from May 7 to 9, 2026, urged the African Commission to adopt a resolution urging Sudan to cooperate fully with international investigations into alleged chemical weapons use.

The statement described in the Dabanga Radio TV Online article says Sudan is “a state party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction,” and therefore “under binding obligations to refrain from developing, producing, possessing, transferring or using chemical weapons.”

Dabanga Radio TV Online

Participants urged the African Commission to act by calling on it to “welcome Sudan’s commitment to address the accusations about the use of chemical weapons with seriousness and transparency,” while stressing that “the Committee should publish its findings without delay.”

Dabanga Radio TV Online also says the forum pressed Sudan to “allow the OPCW to deploy technical teams in the country” and ensure that any investigation is conducted “in a thorough, transparent, independent and timely manner.”

Amnesty International France frames the current crisis as a new spike in violence since April 15, 2023, when violent fighting broke out in Khartoum and in several cities across Sudan.

“What is known about suspicions of chemical weapons use in Sudan U”

Jeune Afrique

It says the escalation pits Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, de facto head of state at the head of the regular army (the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF), against General Hemetti, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and it adds that since the outbreak of the conflict “hundreds of thousands killed and more than 12 million displaced.”

Amnesty International France also describes how civilians suffer from the lack of humanitarian aid and says civilians are caught between two fires because fighters have taken positions among civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law.

The Amnesty International France account further states that the RSF is estimated to number between 70,000 and 150,000 fighters and that it says the SAF committed grave human rights violations notably by using chemical weapons against civilians in Darfur in 2016.