The Biden administration on Thursday announced sanctions on both sides of the recent conflict in Sudan, affecting their ability to wage war. File photo by Sudan Armed Forces/UPI | License photo
June 2 (UPI) — The United States has slapped punitive measures against Sudan’s warring parties as the Biden administration seeks to hold individuals accountable for threats to peace and stability in the Northeast African nation.
The measures for Sudan’s armed forces and their breakaway emergency response force were introduced Thursday after White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Economic sanctions, visa restrictions and updated business advice for Sudan are coming, warned.
“The people of Sudan deserve better,” a senior administration official told reporters in a teleconference on Thursday.
“Today, non-aligned states have taken a number of steps to hold countries accountable and deny them the resources, funds and weapons that have allowed them to continue this horrific conflict.”
Secretary of State, visa restrictions were imposed on specific, though unnamed, individuals from both sides of the conflict, as well as from the former al-Bashir regime. Antonius Blink said the statement.
Al Junaid, an RSF-linked gold mining company in Darfur, has been designated to raise funds for the militia, as has Tradive General Trading, which buys them weapons and equipment.
The treasury was also hit by Sudan Master Technology, a major shareholder in three companies that produce weapons and vehicles for the Sudanese armed forces and the state-run defense industrial system.
“With sanctions, we are cutting off key financial flows to both the Rapid Support Force and the Sudanese Armed Forces, depriving them of the resources they need to pay troops, arm, supply and wage war in Sudan,” the Treasury secretary said. Janet Yellen made a statement.
The business advice, which was first issued in May, has now been updated to highlight the risks of trading gold from conflict zones and doing business with SAF and RSF-affiliated companies.
The northeast African nation has teetered on the brink of war and stability for years since the military overthrew the country’s three-decade-long dictatorial government of President Omar al-Bashir in a civilian-backed coup in 2019.
As the country moved towards democracy, the commander of Sudan’s armed forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, the commander of the Rapid Support Force, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, staged another coup, but internal struggles for control of the government escalated into April 15. blood was spilled, with civilians paying a heavy price.
The fighting continued despite both sides agreeing to a ceasefire between the US and Saudi Arabia.
A senior Biden administration official added that the recent outbreak of fighting ended a year of negotiations to restore civilian rule in the country.
“We have to hold people accountable for the violence and the destruction of Sudan,” the official said.
“The two countries did not comply with the various signed ceasefires. They did not follow the principles of international and humanitarian law.
“So by focusing on how they’re waging this war, how they’re getting the funds, how they’re getting the weapons, our goal is to change their calculations and create a scenario where the guns are finally silenced and we can get on with the important task of satisfying the people of Sudan in order to transition to democracy.
Hundreds died during the war. According to United Nations statistics, more than 1.2 million people in the country have also been displaced by the war, which is more than in the last four years.
