The US has punished Sudanese army chief Burhan

The US government has imposed sanctions on Sudan’s army chief and de facto president, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Treasury Department has announced.

One of the two sides has led the 21-month civil war that has killed tens of thousands, uprooted more than 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

In a brief statement, the US accused General Burhani of “destabilizing Sudan and undermining the goal of a democratic transition”.

The announcement follows reports of civilian killings in the central city of Wad Madani in recent days, but this was not mentioned in the statement.

Last week, the US also sanctioned Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group fighting the army.

The United States accused Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing genocide during the conflict.

In announcing the sanctions against Burhan on Thursday, Washington said the army under his command had “carried out deadly attacks on civilians” including targeting “schools, markets and hospitals”.

The US has also accused the military of being “responsible for the routine and deliberate denial of humanitarian access, using food shortages as a tactic of war”.

During the first year of the conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the army had committed war crimes.

Earlier, General Burhan ordered an investigation into widespread atrocities committed by his troops after recapturing the state capital of Gezira from rival paramilitaries.

His move came after widespread concern that civilians – including foreign nationals – had been killed following the capture of Wad Madani.

Neighboring South Sudan said on Wednesday it had summoned Sudan’s ambassador to protest “against the loss of life among our innocent citizens”.

Wad Madani, 87 miles (140 km) south of the capital Khartoum, fell to the RSF about a year ago. The military regained control on Saturday.

The city serves as a strategic crossroads through major supply highways connecting various states. It is also the most important town closest to Khartoum.

A Sudanese rights group has accused the military of a massacre that killed at least 13 people in Camp Taiba, a town about 20 kilometers away.

Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Sudan’s UN humanitarian chief, said she was deeply concerned by reports of reprisal attacks against civilians in Geziran, “based on alleged affiliation or ethnicity”.

Tom Perriello, the US special envoy to Sudan, called the reports “appalling” and called on the military and allied groups to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

General Burhan said he had set up a commission to investigate the alleged killings at Camp Taiba and asked him to report back within a week.

He did not comment on the concerns raised by South Sudan, and whether the investigation will focus on alleged atrocities elsewhere in Gezi.

South Sudan’s foreign ministry said it had received a “comprehensive report” from its embassy in Sudan, “detailing the unfortunate events that have resulted in the loss of life among our innocent citizens, who maintain their non-combatant status.”

The military has previously accused the RSF of recruiting South Sudanese “mercenaries” to fight for it.

Videos of various incidents on social media, including one showing a plainclothes man being thrown off a bridge and then being shot by a group of men, have gone viral online.

BBC Verify has confirmed that the video was shot on the Hantoub Bridge over the Blue Nile.

We matched key elements of the video, including the railings and the paint on the railings seen in the video, with earlier videos shot on the bridge.

One of the men involved in the incident, carrying a Sudanese flag, is wearing the logo used by the al-Bara’a bin Malik Brigade, which is fighting alongside the Sudanese army in Khartoum and neighboring states.

Two other videos filmed elsewhere show the bodies of at least 30 men in civilian clothes lying on the ground next to a wall.

BBC Verify has confirmed that, by matching the objects seen in the video with satellite images, the videos were recorded in a location north-west of Wad Madani, a few meters from where the army appears to have ambushed RSF fighters.

It is unclear how the men died and whether they were killed before the bodies were collected there.

Also, it is not possible to identify them or whether they were affiliated with a fighting party or not, since it is common for armed fighters not to wear uniforms.

Videos of the ambush, fierce exchange of fire and the aftermath are also circulating.

Sudan’s armed forces condemned what they called “individual violations” in parts of Gezira state on Tuesday, and promised to hold those responsible accountable.

The RSF itself was accused of carrying out revenge attacks in Geziran after the resignation of commander Abu Aqla Kaikal in October last year.

Kaikal was heavily involved in the operation in which the army wrested back control of Wad Madani.

Additional reporting by Yussuf Abdullahi, BBC Monitoring.