The Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR) is deeply alarmed by the investigation published by The Washington Post on 5 September 2026, which presents extensive documentary material alleging that elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) developed, produced and stockpiled chlorine-based chemical weapons during the ongoing war in Sudan.
The investigation comes against the backdrop of concerns that SAR has raised repeatedly for more than a year. This is not the first time that SAR has warned about the alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians in Sudan.
In January 2025, SAR publicly condemned reports of chemical-weapons use in several parts of Sudan and called for an independent investigation, stressing that the use of chemical weapons constitutes a grave violation of international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
SAR subsequently continued to raise these concerns through regional and international accountability mechanisms, calling for technical assistance and independent investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and engagement by relevant human rights and accountability mechanisms.
In November 2025, SAR welcomed further investigative reporting concerning alleged chlorine gas use around Khartoum and reiterated its call for an independent investigation. In March 2026, SAR again raised concerns following further investigative reporting on alleged chemical-weapons use and stressed the need for international accountability.
The latest evidence reported by The Washington Post therefore reinforces concerns that SAR and Sudanese civil society have consistently raised throughout the conflict.
According to the investigation, a trove of documents, photographs, videos, messages and voice notes allegedly points to a chemical-weapons programme involving the production and stockpiling of chlorine-based munitions. The material was reviewed by chemical-weapons experts, intelligence officials and human rights specialists, who reportedly assessed it as credible evidence of a chemical-weapons programme, while emphasising that definitive verification would require access to relevant sites and witnesses.
SAR stresses that these allegations must now be subjected to independent, impartial and scientifically rigorous investigation. The reported evidence must neither be dismissed nor treated as conclusively established without the necessary verification. It must, however, be treated with the seriousness warranted by the nature of the allegations.
The alleged development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons would constitute a profound violation of international law.
Sudan signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1999. The Convention establishes a comprehensive prohibition on chemical weapons and requires States Parties never, under any circumstances, to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or use chemical weapons. It also requires the destruction of chemical weapons and relevant production facilities and provides for international verification and inspections through the OPCW.
The significance of these allegations therefore goes beyond the conduct of individual attacks. If verified, the development and maintenance of a chemical-weapons programme would itself constitute a violation of Sudan’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, while the use of such weapons would constitute an additional and exceptionally grave violation.
Chemical weapons are prohibited because of their inherently toxic effects and their capacity to cause severe injury, prolonged suffering and death. Chlorine, while legitimately used for water treatment and other peaceful purposes, becomes a chemical weapon when used as a weapon. The reported evidence that chlorine intended for civilian water treatment may have been diverted for military purposes makes these allegations particularly disturbing.
The use of chemical weapons in an armed conflict also engages international humanitarian law, including the fundamental rules governing the conduct of hostilities. Chemical weapons cannot lawfully be directed against civilians or civilian objects, and their use raises serious concerns under the prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks and methods or means of warfare that cause unnecessary suffering.
Where chemical weapons are intentionally used against civilians, or where their use forms part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, the conduct may also amount to international crimes, including war crimes and, depending on the circumstances and established elements, crimes against humanity.
The gravity is heightened by the context in which these allegations arise. Sudanese civilians have already endured mass killings, forced displacement, attacks on hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, starvation, sexual violence and widespread destruction. The alleged use of toxic chemical agents against people already trapped in conflict-affected areas would represent an unconscionable escalation of civilian harm.
SAR has consistently maintained that documentation is only the first step. Evidence must lead to investigation, attribution and accountability.
The latest investigation makes clear why independent verification is urgently required. The Washington Post reported evidence of alleged chemical-munitions production, testing, stockpiling and discussions concerning potential targets, including material indicating efforts to conceal evidence of chemical-weapons use. The investigation also reported that forensic specialists found no indication that key photographs, videos and audio materials had been manipulated, although this does not by itself establish the identity of the weapons, their use or the responsibility of particular individuals.
SAR therefore calls for an independent, impartial and technically rigorous investigation into allegations concerning the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons in Sudan. We urge the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and its States Parties to urgently engage to establish the facts and determine the appropriate mechanisms for investigation and verification. SAR further calls on the de facto Government in Sudan to cooperate fully with these efforts and to facilitate unhindered access to relevant sites, witnesses, records and other evidence.
SAR also urges the immediate preservation of all potential evidence, including munition remnants, environmental samples, medical records, photographs, videos, satellite imagery, communications and survivor testimony. Survivors, witnesses, journalists and human rights defenders documenting allegations of chemical-weapons use must be protected from intimidation, retaliation and other forms of reprisal.
The investigation must establish the full chain of command and individual responsibility, including the roles of those who ordered, authorised, facilitated, financed or participated in the alleged programme or its use. Individuals found responsible must be held accountable under applicable international and national law for chemical-weapons violations and any other serious international crimes established through credible investigations. Urgent measures must also be taken to prevent the further development, production, acquisition, stockpiling or use of chemical weapons in Sudan.
SAR further calls on the United Nations, African Union, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, International Criminal Court, OPCW States Parties and relevant national authorities to ensure that credible evidence concerning chemical-weapons allegations is preserved and incorporated into appropriate accountability processes.
The international community must also recognise that the alleged chemical-weapons programme cannot be examined in isolation from the broader pattern of attacks against civilians. The UN’s recent findings on the use of advanced weapons and drones in attacks that have killed civilians and damaged civilian infrastructure demonstrate the urgent need to strengthen investigations into the means and methods being used in Sudan’s war.
For more than three years, Sudanese civilians have borne the devastating consequences of this war. They cannot be expected to bear the additional burden of impunity.
SAR has raised the alarm repeatedly. Sudanese survivors and communities have spoken. Human rights defenders and journalists have documented evidence. International experts have raised serious concerns. The latest investigation adds to an already growing body of information requiring urgent independent scrutiny.
The time for acknowledgement is over. What is required now is investigation, verification and accountability.
There can be no justification for chemical weapons, no normalisation of their use, and no impunity for those responsible.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR),
7 September, 2026.
