PARIS: The Sudanese army, at war with paramilitaries since April 2023, used chlorine gas in two 2024 attacks north of the capital Khartoum, according to a media report released Thursday.
In June, Washington imposed sanctions on Sudan's army-allied government over the use of chemical weapons but did not specify where or when they were used.
The investigation by France24 shows the army appears to have dropped two chlorine barrels in September 2024 around the al-Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum.
The RSF controlled the area and Sudan's largest oil facility at the time.
Human Rights Watch said: "The apparent use of a common industrial chemical as a weapon creates a disturbing precedent".
Sudan's government has repeatedly denied the US allegations, calling them "baseless" and "political blackmail".
Last month, it said an internal investigation had revealed "no evidence" of chemical contamination in Khartoum state.
France24 used open source data, footage circulating on social media and the opinions of five experts to confirm the use of chlorine gas.
They verified videos showing an industrial chlorine barrel, evidently dropped from a plane on September 5, 2024 on the Garri military base near al-Jaili, that had released a yellow cloud of gas consistent with chlorine.
The report traces the barrel to an Indian company that had exported it to Port Sudan in August 2024. The company told the French outlet its intended use was "solely for the treatment of drinking water".
France24 also verified reports of a second barrel dropped from an aircraft on September 13, 2024, on the Jaili oil refinery.
The RSF has throughout the war launched drone strikes, but does not have demonstrated combat aircraft capabilities, which the Sudanese army has used extensively.
Since April 2023, the war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.
It has also unleashed countless atrocities on Sudanese civilians, with both sides accused of war crimes including indiscriminate bombing and targeting civilians.
Both sides are under US sanctions, with Washington determining in January the RSF had committed genocide in the western region of Darfur.
Sudan army used chlorine twice in Khartoum area attacks in 2024: report
https://arab.news/4edj9
Sudan army used chlorine twice in Khartoum area attacks in 2024: report
- HRW said: "The apparent use of a common industrial chemical as a weapon creates a disturbing precedent"
- Sudan's government has repeatedly denied the US allegations, calling them "baseless" and "political blackmail"
Extermination of Palestinians must stop: African Union chair
ADDIS ABABA: The “extermination” of the Palestinian people must end, the chairman of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said on Saturday as he launched the organization’s 39th summit.
“In the Middle East, Palestine and the suffering of its people also challenge our consciences. The extermination of this people must stop,” said Youssouf, who was elected to head the institution a year ago.
The Gaza Strip, a small territory surrounded by Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea, has been under a very strict Israeli siege since the start of the war triggered by Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7, 2023.
That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Since then, at least 71,667 Palestinians have been killed in the small coastal territory by Israel’s retaliatory military campaign, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
He also touched on the multiple conflicts raging in Africa.
“From Sudan to the Sahel, to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in Somalia and elsewhere, our people continue to pay the heavy price of instability,” Youssouf said.
The summit brings together heads of state from the 55 member states of the African Union over two days.
This year’s theme is water sanitation.
