Khartoum – A conflict increasingly shaped by external actors is now under suspicion of involving the use of chemical weapons by at least one of the parties. It is Sudan’s largely forgotten internal war, which broke out on 15 April 2023 between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces . Far from nearing an end, the conflict risks drawing neighbouring countries increasingly into the fighting .
The allegations, reported by two leading US newspapers, that the SAF used chlorine bombs, if confirmed, would add further cause for concern. In the first days of September, both The New York Times and The Washington Post published reports based on intelligence assessments from an unspecified “Middle Eastern country” concerning the testing, production and subsequent use by the SAF of chlorine-filled bombs. The chemical weapons were reportedly used against RSF positions, including near the Al Jaili oil refinery and the Garri military base, north of Khartoum, in September 2024. Videos and images show yellow-green vapours consistent with chlorine, while witnesses reported breathing difficulties.
However, substantiating the allegations would require on-the-ground investigations by independent experts, who would need to collect ammunition remnants, environmental and medical samples, victims’ testimonies and documents relating to military operations.
There are also questions as to whether the use of these weapons actually dates back to September 2024 and, if so, why the information has only emerged now. Were chlorine bombs used in subsequent incidents? If so, when and where? In 2025, the United States had already imposed sanctions on SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and on Sudan in connection with the use of chemical weapons, based on earlier intelligence reports concerning chlorine attacks. The SAF have denied developing or using chemical weapons.
There is, moreover, another aspect that warrants consideration. Chlorine, used to fill the weapons, is widely employed in the treatment of drinking water, but its use as a weapon completely changes its nature. Chlorine can become a dangerous and choking agent when inhaled in high concentrations, particularly in enclosed spaces or areas from which civilians cannot escape quickly. Documents presented by the US newspapers describe plans to obtain quantities of chlorine from a civilian water-treatment facility that had originally received the chemical from international humanitarian agencies.
This is one of the most dangerous aspects of the Sudanese situation: material used in everyday humanitarian operations can, in a wartime context, be turned into an instrument of mass killing. This means that international monitoring bodies may have to tighten controls on chlorine supplies intended for civilian purposes. Yet stricter controls could create another problem if they were to disrupt supplies essential for ensuring access to safe drinking water, thereby worsening the living conditions of a population already exhausted by more than three years of war.
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