US sanctions Sudanese army chief Burhan

Reuters

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan led the army during Sudan's 21-month civil war.

The US government has imposed sanctions on Sudanese army chief and de facto president General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

He led one of two sides in a 21-month civil war that killed tens of thousands, uprooted more than 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

In a brief statement, the US Treasury Department accused General Burhan of “destabilizing Sudan and undermining the goal of a democratic transition.”

The announcement followed reports of civilian killings in the central town of Wad Madani in recent days, but this was not mentioned in the statement.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry called the sanctions “immoral.”

Last week, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the paramilitary group fighting the army, was also sanctioned by the United States.

The United States has accused Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing genocide during the conflict.

In announcing the sanctions against Burhan on Thursday, Washington said the army under its command “carried out deadly attacks against civilians”, notably targeting “schools, markets and hospitals”.

The United States also says the military is “responsible for the systematic and intentional denial of humanitarian access, using food deprivation as a tactic of war.”

The sanctions freeze all of the Sudanese leader's assets in the United States and also block U.S. transactions with him.

The Treasury Department has granted exemptions for humanitarian goods, but aid groups fear the military will retaliate by blocking more aid.

During the first year of the conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the military had committed war crimes.

Reuters

Sudanese army scores major victory in retaking Wad Madani

Earlier, General Burhan ordered an investigation into allegations that his troops committed widespread atrocities after retaking the state capital of Gezira from their paramilitary rivals.

The move follows widespread concern that civilians – including foreign nationals – were killed after the capture of Wad Madani.

Neighboring South Sudan said Wednesday it had summoned Sudan's ambassador to protest “the loss of lives among our innocent citizens.”

Wad Madani, located 140 km south of the capital, Khartoum, fell to the RSF about a year ago. The military regained control on Saturday.

The city serves as a strategic crossroads connecting several states via key supply highways. It is also the closest major city to Khartoum.

A Sudanese rights group accused the army of going on a rampage, killing at least 13 people in Camp Taiba, a village about 20 km away.

UN humanitarian chief in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said she was deeply concerned by reports of reprisal attacks on civilians in Gezira “based on alleged affiliation or ethnicity”.

U.S. special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello called the reports “appalling” and urged the military and allied groups to investigate and hold those responsible to account.

General Burhan said he had set up a committee to investigate the alleged killings at Camp Taiba and asked it to report back within a week.

He did not comment on the concerns raised by South Sudan or whether the investigation would focus on alleged atrocities elsewhere in the Gezira.

South Sudan's foreign ministry said it had received a “comprehensive report” from its embassy in Sudan “detailing the unfortunate events that resulted in the loss of lives among our innocent citizens, who maintain non-combatant status.”

The army has already accused the RSF of hiring South Sudanese as “mercenaries” to fight alongside it.

Reuters

Both sides have been accused of atrocities in the conflict

Social media videos of various incidents, including one showing a man in plain clothes thrown over a bridge and then shot by a group of men, have been widely shared online.

BBC Verify has confirmed that the video was filmed along the Hantoub Bridge over the Blue Nile.

We matched key elements of the video, including the guardrails and the paint on the guardrails, as seen in the video, with previous videos filmed on the bridge.

One of the men involved in the incident, who carries a Sudanese flag, is wearing clothing bearing a logo used by the al-Bara'a bin Malik brigade, which fights alongside the Sudanese army in Khartoum and the states neighbors.

Two other videos filmed elsewhere show at least 30 bodies of men in civilian clothes lying on the ground next to a wall.

BBC Verify established, by comparing objects seen in the video with satellite images, that the videos were filmed northwest of Wad Madani, just meters from where the army appears to have ambushed the RSF fighters.

It is unclear how the men died and whether they were killed before the bodies were collected there.

It is also not possible to identify them or know if they were affiliated with one of the fighting parties, as it is common for armed fighters not to wear uniforms.

Videos of the ambush, the violent exchanges of fire and its consequences are also circulating.

Sudan's armed forces on Tuesday condemned what they called “individual violations” in parts of Gezira state, and promised accountability.

The RSF itself was accused of carrying out reprisal attacks in Gezira following the defection of its commander Abu Aqla Kaikal last October.

Kaikal was heavily involved in the operation that led the army to regain control of Wad Madani.

Additional reporting by Yussuf Abdullahi and Barbara Plett Usher

More BBC stories from the Sudan conflict:

Getty Images/BBC

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