United States Imposes Sanctions on Sudan Over Chemical Weapons

The United States Department of State imposed a second round of sanctions on Sudan effective July 20, 2026, following a determination that the Sudanese military used chemical weapons in 2024. The measures were triggered after Sudan failed to satisfy requirements of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991. The sanctions prohibit the export of most U.S. goods and technology, restrict access to international financial assistance and loans through multilateral development banks, and suspend the operating authority of Sudanese government-controlled airlines to and from the U.S.

While the U.S. government has not released specific details on the attacks, reports indicate that chlorine gas barrels were dropped near the al-Jaili oil refinery in September 2024 with the approval of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Humanitarian aid remains exempt from these restrictions.

The Government of Sudan has strongly rejected the measures. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sudan described the sanctions as unilateral and unlawful, denying that the country produces or possesses chemical weapons. Sudanese officials accused Washington of ignoring the verification mechanisms of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the technical procedures of the Chemical Weapons Convention, claiming the actions are driven by political motives rather than security concerns.