Sudan’s Sovereignty Council chief warns country could face sanctions ‘in coming days’

Adel Abdelrheem, Rania Abushamala

The chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council said Friday that he does not rule out sanctions being imposed on his country “in the coming days.”

“Our battle has not ended and will not end until the rebellion (by the Rapid Support Forces) is eliminated throughout Sudan,” Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the army, said following Friday prayers at the Old Mosque in the city of Al-Manaqil in the Gezirah state, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

“The battle waged by Sudan’s enemies continues, as they want to subjugate the country and bring it to its knees, but this country will not kneel,” he added.

“We do not rule out that sanctions may be imposed on Sudan and on us in the coming days,” al-Burhan said, without specifying who could introduce such measures.

His remarks came amid defections from the paramilitary RSF to the Sudanese army.

On Wednesday, authorities in the capital Khartoum announced the defection of a new RSF group including four military commanders and 318 personnel, along with 50 combat vehicles.

In July, US sanctions against Sudan took effect over allegations that the Sudanese military had used chemical weapons during the ongoing conflict.

The measures restrict most financial and technical assistance to Sudan from international financial institutions, except for humanitarian and food aid, and impose broad limits on exports of US goods and technology.

Khartoum rejected the allegations as “baseless” and politically motivated, saying Washington had failed to provide credible evidence or follow the verification mechanisms of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Since April 2023, the RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army over a dispute related to integrating the paramilitary force into the military, triggering famine and fueling one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The war has killed thousands of people and displaced around 13 million while worsening humanitarian conditions and spreading hunger across large parts of Sudan.