Exclusive: Burhan, the head of the Sudanese army, will face sanctions from the US

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese army, will face financial sanctions from the United States on Thursday, according to three people with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke to Reuters.

The announcement came barely one week after Washington imposed sanctions on Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Burhan’s adversary in a civil conflict that has been going on for two years.

According to two of the sources, Burhan’s sanctions were imposed in part to demonstrate that Washington was impartial.

Earlier Thursday, Burhan was adamant about the possibility that he could be targeted while addressing his troops.

“The army leadership is reportedly set to face punishment. “Any sanctions for serving this country are welcome,” he stated in remarks that were shown on Al Jazeera television.

Requests for comment from the Sudanese army and U.S. Treasury and State department representatives were not immediately answered.

Together, the RSF and the Sudanese army overthrew the country’s civilian government in 2021, but they clashed over plans to merge their forces less than two years later.

Millions have been displaced, half of the population is now hungry, and tens of thousands have died in the conflict that started in April 2023.

The army’s targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, its refusal to engage in peace talks last year, and its denial of access to humanitarian aid were among the reasons given for Burhan’s sanctions, according to one of the sources, a diplomat.

Hemedti, also known as Dagalo, was sanctioned after Washington found that his troops had attacked people and committed genocide. The RSF has carried out violent looting operations in the areas under its control.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have made numerous attempts to bring the two parties to the bargaining table, but the army has rejected most of them, including discussions in Geneva in August that were partly intended to provide humanitarian access.

Rather, the army has intensified its invasion, capturing the vital city of Wad Madani this week and promising to reclaim Khartoum, the capital.

Residents and rights experts have accused the army of attacking people and carrying out indiscriminate airstrikes, most recently this week’s retaliatory attacks in Wad Madani. The army and RSF were found to have committed war crimes by the U.S. earlier.