Report: Rhino

Sudanese circles were not surprised after the US administration issued sanctions on army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the context of his involvement in disrupting the civilian democratic transition in Sudan by staging a coup on October 25, or by fabricating the April 15 war to block the will of the Sudanese revolution. The direct accusations that the army used chemical weapons in its war against the Rapid Support, and yet it was unable to resolve the battles in its favor, whether by legitimate or illegitimate warfare, made the accusations and the sanctions decision a new scandal added to the records of the army, which has always claimed to be invincible.

Details of the sanctions:

The U.S. Treasury Department website announced that the United States has imposed sanctions on army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement: “Members of the Sudanese Armed Forces under Burhan’s command have continued to commit atrocities, particularly by targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure and executing civilians.” “Sudanese armed forces have violated international humanitarian law, used starvation as a war tactic and obstructed peace efforts,” he added.

Blinken expressed “real regret” over the failure to end the war in Sudan, expressing his hope that the administration of President-elect Donald Trump will continue its attempts to achieve peace in this country. “For me, yes, it is another real regret with regard to Sudan, as we were unable, during our term, to achieve this kind of success,” he said at a press conference on the occasion of the end of his mandate.

The New York Times preempted the US decisions by revealing, citing four US sources, that the Sudanese army used chemical weapons, at least twice, against the Rapid Support Forces. They expressed their fear of using these weapons in densely populated areas in the capital Khartoum.

The New York Times added that knowledge of Sudan’s chemical weapons program is limited to a small group within the military, and that it was Burhan who authorized the use of these weapons against the RSF.

Chemical identification:

Although there is a clear lack of information about the type of chemical weapons used by the Sudanese army in its wars that began before independence against its angry citizens who were driven by grievances to take up arms, it is known – according to many researches interested in this type of weaponry – that munitions that use chemicals with the aim of inflicting death or severe damage to humans are internationally banned and classified as weapons of mass destruction.

Not the first time:

In September 2016, Amnesty International published a report accusing the Khartoum government of using chemical weapons against its citizens in Darfur, killing dozens of children among the nearly 200 people the organization says have been killed since January of that year. Those exposed to “toxic fumes” vomited blood and suffered from shortness of breath and skin breakdowns, the organization said.

A state government source under the former regime, who preferred to remain anonymous, revealed to Rhino that the army used a weapon called “Fak” during the period of the RUF’s entry into the Abu Karshula area, which in turn works to suck the air surrounding the enemy elements, causing them to be paralyzed and completely stiff as a result of suffocation and even an increased sense of thirst, he added: At the time, the Revolutionary Front elements took advantage of the geographical reality in the area and used the “caves” in the mountains surrounding the area, so the army could not achieve any real progress in the battles, which made it use this weapon.

The source revealed that two Russian pilots were in charge of flying the planes that dropped the weapon, and that they were staying in a hotel on 15th Street in Khartoum that belongs to the military protocols. He added: When the army entered Abu Karshula, no part of the battlefield was filmed, but only the officials and army commanders were filmed so that people would not see what the bodies looked like.

The army is doing it:

Circulating videos showed individuals wearing military uniforms and gas masks talking while holding a small canister the size of a tear gas projectile, threatening to use it against the RSF, which reinforces the hypothesis that the army is using these canisters containing chemical substances, as long as those holding them are wearing gas masks.

Political analyst Omar Sufian Salem, speaking to Rhino, did not rule out that the Sudanese army uses internationally banned weapons because it lacks the necessary sensitivity towards the ethics of war, as evidenced by eyewitnesses in all parts of Sudan, whether the South before its independence, and the practices of soldiers that do not reflect any humanity, as well as South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, he added: “The army leadership has been looking for victories to whitewash its face after the six-hour lie, in which it said it would eliminate the RSF and failed to do so for two years, and is currently working to portray the RSF withdrawals as victories that satisfy the real leadership of this army, represented by the Islamist groups under the leadership of Karti and others.

Sufyan emphasized that the accusations coming from the Americans open the door for the entire Sudan file to be transferred to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Otherwise, “the maniacs of war and false victories will not hesitate to use anything to rule Sudan and cover up their failure to defeat the RSF in direct combat.”