[Al Arabiya Latest] American President Barack Obama renewed sanctions on Sudan late on Tuesday, a week after unveiling a new policy of pressure and incentives toward the Khartoum government aimed at settling the simmering conflict.The one-year extension, which Obama made official in a notice to the U.S. Congress, followed his announcement earlier this month of a new carrot-and-stick policy aimed at ending violence in Sudan's Darfur region and the semi-autonomous South.
The sanctions restrict U.S. trade with and investment in Sudan, freezes the Sudanese government assets in the United States, and bans transactions with individuals and entities linked to the conflict in Darfur.
Obama, who during last year's U.S. presidential campaign urged a tougher line on Khartoum, has justified the shift as necessary to prevent the oil-rich African giant from falling further into chaos.
Unveiling the revised strategy on Oct. 19, the administration set goals to end war crimes in Darfur and ensure implementation of a fraying 2005 peace deal between Khartoum and former southern rebels ahead of national elections next year and a 2011 referendum on southern secession.