Human Rights Watch: Concerning Reports of Sudanese Army’s Use of Banned Chlorine Gas

Ida Sawyer, Director of the Crisis, Conflict, and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, pointed to disturbing reports suggesting that the Sudanese army has used chlorine gas, a weapon prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Sudan is a signatory.

The United States had earlier imposed sanctions on Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, alleging the army’s use of chemical weapons — without publishing evidence to substantiate the claim.

Human Rights Watch stated that it had independently verified several geographic locations from which photos and videos — originally published in September last year by the digital investigations unit of France 24 — were taken. The imagery reportedly showed metal canisters used for chlorine storage placed near small pits, as well as another video showing a yellowish-green cloud, the distinctive hallmark of chlorine gas.

Among the verified sites, the organization identified the Qari military base and the Khartoum Oil Refinery in the Al-Jaili area, north of the capital — both of which were under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the time.

The organization emphasized that states party to the Chemical Weapons Convention should support a transparent investigation by the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), including through a procedure known as a “challenge inspection.”

Human Rights Watch also urged the United States to release the evidence upon which it based its sanctions against the Sudanese army chief.