Story perspectives

OPCW report links Sudan army chlorine attacks to witnesses

9/9/2026

Summary

Burhan's Chlorine Bombs

Sudan’s army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is accused of creating chlorine weapons.
OPCW officials’ 32-page report cites eight Nairobi witnesses linking attacks to the army.
Brigadier General Tariq Hussein is named chief designer of the 2024 chlorine bomb program.
The program allegedly diverted chlorine from Omdurman water-treatment plants and humanitarian shipments.
The 22 July Merowe launch was called “100 % success”, leading to U.S. sanctions in April 2025.

Summary

UN Mission probes

UN Fact-Finding Mission chair Mohamed Chande Othman called SAF’s refusal of investigators “weak” and pledged an inquiry.
Mission presented the “Fuelling the Conflict” report to UN Human Rights Council, backed by over 30 states and ten NGOs.
UN investigators said foreign drones and loitering munitions enabled SAF’s long-range strikes, including at Yabus Market.
Sudanese coalition urged the UN Human Rights Council to name SAF’s foreign backers and extend the fact-finding mission.

History

Historical Context

In March 1988, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces bombarded the Kurdish town of Halabja with artillery and mustard-gas canisters, killing at least 5,000 civilians and wounding roughly 7,000. The attack occurred during the Iran–Iraq War after Kurdish peshmerga, backed by Iran, briefly seized the town. The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention later gave the OPCW authority to investigate similar violations.

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Burhan's Chlorine Bombs

Sudan’s army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is accused of creating chlorine weapons.
OPCW officials’ 32-page report cites eight Nairobi witnesses linking attacks to the army.
Brigadier General Tariq Hussein is named chief designer of the 2024 chlorine bomb program.
The program allegedly diverted chlorine from Omdurman water-treatment plants and humanitarian shipments.
The 22 July Merowe launch was called “100 % success”, leading to U.S. sanctions in April 2025.

1 / 3