Rhino: Agencies – The Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. State Department said that the United States has concluded that the Sudanese army used chemical weapons in 2024, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In response to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ruling authority in Port Sudan—which rejected U.S. sanctions and denied that the Sudanese military had used chemical weapons—the Bureau of African Affairs said in a post on the “X” platform today: “ “Unfortunately, Sudan has refused to acknowledge its use of chemical weapons, has refused to take the necessary steps to address the situation, and has failed to return to compliance with the provisions of the Convention.”

The bureau emphasized that the internal committee formed by the Port Sudan Authority “is not a substitute for the independent verification conducted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.”

It added: “Accordingly, and pursuant to U.S. law, we have announced the imposition of additional sanctions on the Sudanese government.”

The U.S. State Department also called on the Port Sudan Authority to fulfill its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and to take the necessary steps to return to compliance with its provisions.

Two days earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ruling authority in Port Sudan had issued a statement rejecting the sanctions announced by the United States and denying that the Sudanese military had used chemical weapons.

This came after the United States escalated its punitive measures against the de facto authority in Port Sudan, announcing the start of the second phase of sanctions provided for in the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act, following its official confirmation, last week that the Sudanese military had used chemical weapons and that the authorities in Port Sudan had failed, within the statutory deadline, to meet the conditions required for the sanctions to be lifted.