U.S sanctions open new front of pressure on Sudan’s army amid growing concerns for civilians

Additional U.S. sanctions on Sudan came into effect on July 20, 2026, following Washington’s accusation that the Sudanese army had used chemical weapons during the war that has continued since April 2023.

According to the official notice published in the U.S. Federal Register, the new measures were imposed under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act after the U.S. administration determined that Sudan had failed to meet the conditions required to avoid a second round of sanctions.

The measures include restrictions on Sudan’s access to loans and financial assistance, as well as Washington’s opposition to providing it with financing through international financial institutions, alongside tighter restrictions on certain exports and U.S. economic transactions.

The sanctions add to the political and economic pressure on the authority led by army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Port Sudan since the 2021 military coup, at a time when regional and international initiatives aimed at ending the war continue to falter.

In the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the Sudanese Declaration of Principles forces held a meeting to review developments in the conflict, the course of the political process, and the mediation efforts under consideration.

They announced that they were working to formulate a unified vision to coordinate local, regional, and international pressure to halt the fighting, protect civilians, and deliver aid.

The participating forces reaffirmed their rejection of a military solution and called for a Sudanese-owned political process that addresses the roots of the crisis while preserving the country’s unity and sovereignty.

The alliance includes civil and political forces opposed to the war, including the Somoud coalition and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid Mohamed Nour.

The political moves and U.S. sanctions coincided with continued reports of civilian casualties in airstrikes in areas of Kordofan.

Human rights and local sources reported that army aircraft bombed the Jabra area in North Kordofan, using Antonov aircraft to drop barrel bombs, killing and injuring people and causing damage to civilian areas.

Sudanese human rights organisations have warned that the use of unguided explosive weapons in populated areas significantly increases the likelihood of civilian casualties.

The Jabra airstrikes come amid a broader escalation of military operations in North Kordofan, where human rights and humanitarian organisations have documented multiple attacks in recent weeks targeting civilians, vehicles, and vital facilities, amid the widening scope of the confrontation between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

In El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, fears are mounting that the city could become the scene of a large-scale confrontation amid military build-ups, reciprocal attacks, and the deterioration of essential services.

Local accounts and civil activists say that security and military checkpoints affiliated with the army and allied forces have imposed restrictions on residents leaving the city and prevented some families from departing via roads leading to neighbouring areas.

The reports have raised fears that hundreds of thousands of civilians could remain inside a city at risk of becoming the scene of major battles and be used as human shields, while the army has issued no official clarification regarding the reasons for, or scope of, the restrictions.

The Tasis coalition had announced the opening of safe corridors for civilians in El Obeid, expressing its readiness to receive international organisations on the ground.

The United Nations says Sudan’s crisis has become one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with more than 30 million people in need of assistance during 2026, while the Kordofan region is witnessing new waves of displacement as fighting expands and insecurity persists.

The simultaneous developments—from U.S. sanctions to the Kordofan airstrikes and restrictions imposed on civilian movement in El Obeid—indicate that the war is entering a phase in which international pressure is increasingly intertwined with the risk of expanding military operations, with no immediate signs that either side of the conflict is prepared to accept a political settlement to halt the fighting.