The European Union has moved to stop all imports of gold from Sudan, stepping up efforts to deny the country's warring factions access to one of their biggest sources of income. The latest sanctions also ban the purchase, transfer and transport of Sudanese gold within the bloc as fighting continues to fuel a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The decision was approved by EU foreign ministers, who also imposed a ban on the export of mercury and cyanide to Sudan. The two chemicals are widely used in gold mining and are expected to limit activities linked to the country's gold industry.
The conflict, which broke out in April 2023 between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has displaced more than 14 million people, making it one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies.
Sudan ranks among Africa's leading gold producers, and rights groups say the precious metal has become one of the main sources of revenue for both sides in the conflict.
UN experts and other analysts estimate that more than half of Sudan's gold leaves the country through illegal channels every year, with some putting the figure as high as 70 per cent.
Most goldfields in Darfur and Kordofan are under the control of the RSF, while the Sudanese army oversees production in the northern and eastern parts of the country.
The gold is then moved through neighbouring countries, including Egypt, Chad and Libya, before finding its way to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
"Gold has become a key source of revenue sustaining the conflict in Sudan," the EU Council said in a statement, adding that the ban and other restrictions were designed to "reduce the resources" available to those responsible for perpetuating the violence.
"The measures are designed to curb sources of financing for the conflict and further increase pressure on those fuelling the war," it added.
Under the new sanctions, EU citizens and businesses are prohibited from buying, importing or transporting gold that originates from Sudan.
The measures add to an existing package of EU sanctions that already targets individuals and organisations accused of supporting or prolonging the conflict.
Even so, experts say the restrictions are unlikely to stop the illegal gold trade on their own unless countries used as transit routes, together with major global gold trading centres, also tighten controls against smuggled Sudanese gold.
The latest action comes as international pressure continues to grow on those backing the conflict, with aid agencies warning that more than 28 million people across Sudan are facing acute hunger.