Report: Secret documents accuse the Sudanese army of developing and using chemical weapons

A Sudanese report stated, on Sunday (September 6, 2026), that about 150 secret documents reinforce the accusations against the Sudanese army of developing, producing and using chemical munitions during the war against the Rapid Support Forces. The Sudanese newspaper Al-Rakouba reported that a file submitted by a Middle Eastern intelligence agency to the New York Times included about 150 documents, photos, video clips and audio recordings, in addition to thousands of text messages, a large portion of which appeared to come from the phones of senior Sudanese officers.

The newspaper says that the materials describe how the Sudanese army developed and produced, over a period of six months in 2024, munitions based on chlorine gas with the aim of using them against the Rapid Support Forces. The file includes plans for bombs and details of secret testing operations in the desert, as well as information indicating an attempt to hide the effects of the program after its discovery by the United States. According to a report published by the newspaper, audio and text messages linked to Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan indicate that he had direct knowledge of the alleged project, which the newspaper said was a major factor in the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on him in January 2025.

In its first reaction, the Emergency Human Rights Lawyers Group, in a press release on Sunday, called for a transparent investigation by “enabling international experts to have safe and unconditional access to the sites in question, examine the remains of containers, munitions, aircraft and launch vehicles, and interview witnesses and victims in an independent and safe manner.”

The group confirmed that its current capabilities do not allow it to conduct the laboratory analyzes and technical examinations necessary to prove the type of substance used or conclusively determine individual criminal responsibility. However, this does not justify ignoring the available indicators; The numerous reports, visual materials, testimonies, and expert analyses, in addition to the official American announcement, require an urgent, independent, technical, international investigation.

A Sudanese army spokesman rejected the results of the file, describing them as “baseless and lacking material support,” noting that Sudan is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention. The spokesman said that the army may resort to the American judiciary against the newspaper if the contents of the file are published. It is noteworthy that the United States of America accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of using chemical weapons during the war with the Rapid Support Forces, which Khartoum denied.

The case began in May 2025, when the United States announced the imposition of sanctions on Sudan after accusing the armed forces of using chemical weapons during the war with the Rapid Support Forces in 2024. Additional US sanctions on Sudan began last July 20, after Washington accused the government of not fulfilling the conditions stipulated in the Law on Combating Chemical and Biological Weapons within a three-month period.

The Port Sudan Authority rejected these accusations, stressing that it does not produce, possess, or use this type of weapon, and that it is committed to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Sudan has been witnessing a war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, and the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 59,000 people, displaced about 13 million others, and pushed many parts of Sudan into famine.