Rhino: Agencies – The Civil Democratic Alliance of Revolutionary Forces “Sumud” accused the Sudanese army leadership of establishing a secret program to produce and store munitions loaded with chlorine gas and using them in the war, demanding an urgent and independent international investigation into what it described as a war crime and a flagrant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
In a statement issued Friday, the coalition noted that investigations published by *The New York Times* and “The Washington Post”—based on documents, photos, videos, and messages—indicate that senior military leaders, foremost among them Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, were aware of the program and subsequently involved in attempts to cover up its traces and destroy related evidence.
According to the statement, the allegations include the diversion of chlorine cylinders intended for purifying drinking water—which had arrived in Sudan through programs run by the United Nations and international relief organizations to serve civilians—for military use in the manufacture of chemical munitions.
“Sumud” described the diversion of materials intended to save civilian lives into instruments of killing as “a double crime against the Sudanese people,” emphasizing that the gravity of the published information goes beyond political debate, given that it involves allegations of the production, storage, and use of internationally banned weapons.
The coalition stressed that political denials are insufficient to counter the evidence and details contained in the journalistic investigations, affirming that the use of chemical weapons, if proven, constitutes a war crime and a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Sudan’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
“Sumud” called on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to immediately launch an independent and transparent technical investigation, to grant its experts unrestricted access to sites, documents, and witnesses, and to define the chain of command and operational responsibility, in preparation for holding accountable anyone proven to have participated in the production or use of chemical weapons or in attempting to conceal their traces.
The statement levels the most serious accusations against the army leadership since the outbreak of the war, as they are not limited to the alleged use of a prohibited weapon, but extend to the exploitation of international relief supplies and their diversion from their humanitarian purposes, followed by attempts to cover up the evidence, according to the coalition’s report based on the two journalistic investigations.
“Sumoud” renewed its call for an immediate end to the war, the protection of civilians, the opening of humanitarian corridors, and the accountability of all perpetrators of crimes without selectivity, warning that the continuation of fighting and impunity open the door to further atrocities and prohibited violations.
The alliance emphasized that ending the cycle of war and tyranny requires a just and sustainable peace and a democratic civilian transition that puts an end to the use of state institutions and resources for war and ensures that those responsible for violations are held accountable.
