Sudan govt: ‘New US sanctions unjust’

The Sudanese government has denounced the US Treasury Department’s decision to impose sanctions on Zadna International Company “under the pretext of its affiliation to the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)”.

In a statement yesterday, the acting Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Port Sudan, Red Sea state, defended Zadna company as being “the largest national agricultural company that contributes to achieving food security in Sudan”.

It described the US decision as “unjust and based on fake justifications, reflecting the confusion and contradictions of the American administration’s position”.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three companies implicated in “jeopardising Sudan’s peace, security, and stability”.

The targeted measures are an effort to identify and isolate funding sources supporting the SAF and RSF, fighting each other since April 15 last year and has led to the “staggering” number of 11 million people who fled their homes.

In its retort to the US measures, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that the “national army is entrusted with defending the country and its people, protecting national security, national sovereignty, and the supreme interests of Sudan”. The SAF “plays an essential role in achieving regional peace and stability, as it is the oldest, most experienced, and professional army in the Horn of Africa”.

The statement considers “the targeting any national institution under the pretext of its affiliation to the SAF as an attempt to weaken the national army.

“This not only constitutes a threat to the stability and unity of Sudan, but will also contribute to the growing risks of terrorism, cross-border crimes, and security chaos throughout the region.”

The ministry further repeated its refusal to be equated with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) by the US administration and said that “the SAF is confronting their terrorism and atrocities against defenceless citizens”. It cited UN Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 6712, which she said classified the RSF as a terrorist organisation.

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) said in a statement last week that it appreciates “the measures, decisions and actions by international institutions and nations to combat impunity in the Sudan,” though “they remain of no real value“.