Leading French broadcaster France 24 has published what they describe as the first independently verified proof of chlorine gas being used as a chemical weapon during Sudan’s civil war, specifically in attacks carried out in September 2024 near the Al-Jaili oil refinery and Garri military base north of Khartoum.
The France 24 investigation utilised open-source methods to authenticate videos and images showing yellow-green clouds, debris from industrial chlorine barrels, and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) aircraft in the area. Five independent chemical weapons experts reviewed this evidence and confirmed it matched the characteristics of aerial chlorine barrel attacks, which only the SAF have the capacity to conduct.
The incidents involved the dropping of barrels filled with chlorine gas from aircraft during battles between the Sudanese army and the RSF militia. France 24’s respected ‘Observers’ team said:
“Thanks to exclusive documents, the Observers team was able to trace how these barrels of chlorine used as chemical weapons were brought to Sudan. Our investigation shows that the chlorine was exported to Sudan by Chemtrade International Corporation, an Indian company. They said it was intended exclusively for water treatment purposes, a common civilian use. We also found that the chlorine gas was imported by Ports Engineering Company, a Sudanese company. Its website states that the company specialises in public works and water treatment, an apparent reference to the production of potable water. However, there is no indication that the chlorine barrels were imported for use at Sudanese water-treatment centres.”
There is no clear evidence the chlorine was ever used for its stated purpose of civilian water treatment, as no records show the barrels reaching such facilities; trade data instead connects the importers to military uses and business with defence suppliers.Videos and images authenticated by France 24’s Observers team showed gas clouds and debris consistent with chemical weapon deployment. The report includes geolocated videos showing yellow-green gas clouds, debris from industrial chlorine barrels typically used for water purification, and footage of aircraft believed to belong to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The conclusions reached by the panel of five independent chemical weapons experts are especially important. They confirmed that the materials were consistent with chlorine gas being deployed from the air, a capability held only by the SAF. This makes the France 24 investigation the strongest and most credible documentation to date of chemical weapon use in the Sudan conflict.
The exclusive evidence provided by France 24 goes beyond survivor testimony, which had reported chemical exposure symptoms since 2024, and marks the strongest documentation of chemical weapon use in the Sudan conflict so far.International organisations and governments have called for further investigation, accountability, and an immediate halt to any chemical weapon use following these revelations.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights welcomed the France 24 report:
“These findings reaffirm the urgent need for an international investigation led by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into the use of chlorine gas and any other prohibited weapons in Sudan. They also highlight the need for strengthened protection for survivors, witnesses, journalists, and documentation teams who remain vulnerable to retaliation for speaking the truth. Equally important is the need for accountability for all perpetrators, regardless of rank or affiliation, and for sustained international attention at a time when chemical attacks must neither be normalised nor ignored.”
The U.S. determined in April 2025 that Sudan had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention and imposed sanctions on the SAF leadership for these attacks. France 24’s report is an important step forward as it combines open-source investigation, expert review, and commercial documentation to establish the link between imported chlorine and its use as a weapon in Sudan’s ongoing conflict.
The deception around claiming that the chlorine was for use in purifying water is causing particular shock among those working for peace in Sudan. More than a third of Sudan’s population doesn’t have access to potable water, making it a critical issue across the country. Chlorine is an essential ingredient to making water fit for human consumption – to claim to be importing it for that reason, when in fact it was always intended for use as a chemical weapons seems to achieve a new low in the Sudan conflict. France 24 put it best when they explained that If the two barrels used in the attack had been used to purify water, they would have been able to provide potable water for six months for the one million displaced people currently in Khartoum.
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First published in this link of The European Times.
