US sanctions Sudan army leader, citing atrocities

FILE - This handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces's Facebook page on Aug. 24, 2024, shows Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan giving a press conference in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks to reporters after a meeting with foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, Dec. 14, 2024.

Washington has slapped sanctions on Sudan's army leader, citing his responsibility for war crimes in a conflict that has bled the oil-rich country dry over the last year — sparking a famine, killing tens of thousands of people and driving millions from their homes — just a week after the U.S. sanctioned his opponent for acts it described as genocide.