EU Bans Gold From Sudan as War Funds Go Dark

Sun Sep 06 2026 02:24:29 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The EU stops gold, mercury and cyanide trading from Sudan to cut funding for a brutal civil war, risking millions of people.

The EU has put a freeze on Sudan’s gold exports, a key revenue source for warring factions, alongside bans on mining chemicals. With the civil war spreading misery, the move seeks to squeeze the conflict’s budget. Experts warn it will only help if global markets tighten enforcement. Meanwhile millions struggle with food shortages and displacement.

EU bans gold imports from Sudan. The trade has become a lifeline for the fighting army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and is fueling a brutal war that began in April 2023.

More than 14 million people have been uprooted and 28 million are fighting hunger. Sudan owns some of Africa’s biggest gold reserves, but up to 70% of that gold is smuggled out each year. The gold, along with chemicals like mercury and cyanide used in mining, goes through Egypt, Chad, Libya and ends up in Dubai where it is refined.

The EU’s ban covers purchasing, importing, exporting, and transporting Sudanese gold. It also limits the export of mining chemicals that the two forces use to keep the gold flow alive. The sanctions are part of a broader package aimed at cutting the war’s money source.

But sanctions alone may not stop the trade. Experts say that if global gold markets and regional transit corridors tighten enforcement, the flow could be stopped. Until then, the war’s cost in lives and stability keeps rising.

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