US blacklists Sudan army chief as Blinken voices regret over failure to end war
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Sudan's leader, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accusing him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Sudan's army chief days after blacklisting his main rival, as outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced regret at his failure to end the brutal war.
The Sudanese army has been at war with rival paramilitaries since April 2023 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million, including millions who face a worsening hunger crisis.
The Treasury Department announced sanctions on Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, a week after similar action against Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Burhan's former deputy who heads the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
"Taken together, these sanctions underscore the US view that neither man is fit to govern a future, peaceful Sudan," Blinken said in a statement.
In the latest sanctions announcement, the Treasury Department accused the army of attacking schools, markets and hospitals and using food deprivation as a weapon of war -- although it stopped short of alleging genocide, a charge leveled at the RSF.
The United States previously had steered clear of sanctions on the two leaders so as to preserve diplomacy with them.
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