The European Union has imposed new sanctions on Sudan, targeting the country’s gold trade over claims that it is helping finance the country’s ongoing armed conflict.
The measures include a ban on the purchase, import and transfer of gold originating from Sudan, as well as restrictions on the sale, supply, transfer and export of mercury and cyanide to the country.
The sanctions were announced in Brussels on Monday by the Council of the European Union as part of efforts to disrupt financial channels sustaining the conflict.
In a statement, the Council said: “The decision introduces a ban on the purchase, import or transfer of gold originating in Sudan. It also bans the sale, supply, transfer or export of mercury and cyanide to Sudan.”
The European Union said the measures are intended to curb the flow of resources used to finance the conflict and weaken the economic networks supporting the warring parties.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
EU officials said the sanctions form part of broader efforts to disrupt the activities of individuals and entities that provide financial and material support to groups fuelling the violence.
Analysts have identified Sudan’s gold trade as a major source of revenue for armed groups, making it a key focus of international efforts to limit funding for the conflict.
The latest sanctions underscore growing international efforts to curb illicit financial flows and increase pressure on the parties involved to end the war.