January 16, 2025- The United States on Thursday sanctioned Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), along with one company and one individual involved in weapons procurement.
In December 2023, I determined that members of the SAF had committed war crimes. Since then, members of the SAF, under Al-Burhan’s leadership, have continued to commit atrocities, including targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure and executing civilians.
“The SAF has violated international humanitarian law and ignored commitments undertaken in the 2023 “Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan.”
The SAF’s use of food deprivation as a tactic of war and its deliberate obstruction of the free flow of emergency humanitarian aid to millions of Sudanese in desperate need have contributed to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, leaving over 25 million Sudanese facing acute food insecurity and over 600,000 experiencing famine.
This is contained in a press statement by the U.S. Department of State.
In addition, Al-Burhan has obstructed the advancement of peace, including by refusing to participate in international ceasefire talks in Switzerland in August 2024. Al-Burhan has repeatedly obstructed the political transition to a civilian government.
This action follows the designation of the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, on January 7, 2025. Taken together, these sanctions underscore the U.S. view that neither man is fit to govern a future, peaceful Sudan.
The United States remains committed to holding accountable those responsible for atrocities committed in Sudan and to supporting a democratic, civilian transition.
The Department of the Treasury’s actions were taken according to Executive Order 14098, “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition,” as amended. For more information on today’s action, see Treasury’s press release.
