The Republic of Sudan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Office of the Spokesperson and Media Directorate
Press Statement
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejects the decision of the US Treasury Department to impose sanctions on Zadna International Co (literally our food stock) under the pretext of its affiliation to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The Ministry reiterates that SAF is the legitimate national army entrusted with defending the country and its people and protecting national security, national sovereignty and the supreme interests of Sudan. In addition, SAF plays a crucial role in maintaining regional peace and stability, as it is the oldest and the most experienced and professional army in the Horn of Africa.
Therefore, targeting a national corporation under the pretext of its affiliation to SAF can only be interpreted 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 menace of terrorism, cross-border organized crimes, and insecurity throughout the entire region.
The unjust decision, furthermore, brings harm to the largest national agricultural company, which contributes greatly to food security in Sudan and beyond. In fact, the decision was based on feeble justifications that do not stand scrutiny or objective evaluation. It cites rather puzzling allegations, such as claiming that Zadna is a vehicle to “military money-laundering ”, an absurd and irrational claim. Imposing sanctions on Zadna displays only a confused and inconsistent position by the US Administration on the Sudanese crisis. The Administration has stated, on more than an occasion, that the RSF terrorist militia is practicing ethnic cleansing and atrocities akin to genocide. On the very day the US Government issued its extremely unfair decision (Wednesday 31 January 2024), Ms Samantha Power, Administrator of the US Agency for International Development, made statements that RSF terrorist militia is practicing ethnic cleansing and atrocities against millions of Sudanese throughout the country. Yet the American Administration, through this decision and its likes, is equating the terrorist militia with SAF, the national army that is actively combating RSF’s terrorism and atrocities against defenseless citizens. In their recent report, the UN panel of experts on the Security Council Resolution 1591 have revealed the real culprits for the continuation of the war in Sudan. If the United States is serious about stopping the war, it has to compel the countries that continue to supply the terrorist militia with lethal weapons or facilitate their delivery, in order to continue its war against the Sudanese people, to stop doing so, instead of taking troubled and contradictory positions, that only encourage the terrorist militia to persist in its crimes.
The designation, announced today by the competent Sudanese authorities, of the RSF militia as a terrorist organization, pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 6712, leaves no pretext to consider it an equal party to the national army, or feign impartiality .
