Sudan's military has used chemical weapons at least twice against a paramilitary group it is fighting for control of the country, four senior US officials said Thursday.
The weapons were recently deployed in remote areas of Sudan, targeting members of the paramilitary units of the Flexible Support Forces, which the army has been fighting since April 2023. But US officials worry that the weapons could soon be used in densely populated areas of the capital, Khartoum.
The chemical weapons revelations came as the US announced sanctions On Thursday, Sudan's military commander, General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, was accused of documented atrocities by his troops, including indiscriminate bombing of civilians and hunger as a weapon of war.
The use of chemical weapons crosses another frontier in the war between the Sudanese army and its former ally, the RSF. By many measures, the conflict in Sudan has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with up to 150,000 deaths, more than 11 million displaced and now the world's worst famine in decades.
“The SAF's combat tactics under Burhan have included indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, attacks on schools, markets and hospitals, and extrajudicial executions,” the Treasury Department said, using the acronym for Sudan's armed forces.
General al-Burhan defiantly replied: “We are prepared to face any sanctions in the service of this nation and we welcome them.”
The US decision is seen by some as a significant step against the man who is seen by some as Sudan's de facto warlord and who also represents his country at the United Nations.
Aid groups fear that the Sudanese military may respond to the sanctions by further restricting aid operations in areas that are either experiencing or sliding toward famine. The decision could also reshape the broader relationship between Sudan and the United States, whose Sudan envoy Tom Perriello has been a leading figure in stalled efforts to reach a peace deal.
Although chemical weapons were not mentioned in Thursday's official sanctions notice, several US officials said they were a key factor in the decision to take action against General al-Burhan.
Two authorities briefed on the matter said that chlorine gas was used in the chemical weapons. When used as a weapon, chlorine can cause permanent damage to human tissue. It can cause suffocation and death by trapping breathable air in enclosed spaces.
Two of the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, said knowledge of Sudan's chemical weapons program was limited to a small group within the country's military. But it was clear that General al-Burhan had authorized their use, they said.
Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idris al-Haris Mohamed, said in a text message that Sudan's military had “never used chemical or incendiary weapons.”
“On the contrary, it is the militia that uses them,” he added, referring to the Rapid Support Force.
last week, The US has identified He said the Flexible Support Forces committed genocide in the war and sanctioned its leader, Lt. Gen. Mohammad Hamdana, for his role in atrocities against his own people. The US also imposed sanctions on seven United Arab Emirates-based companies that traded arms or gold for the RSF.
The Sudanese army has been accused of using chemical weapons before. Amnesty International in 2016 He said there was credible evidence of at least 30 possible attacks It has killed and maimed hundreds of people, including children, in the West Darfur region. The organization published photos of children covered in lesions and blisters, some vomiting blood or unable to breathe.
As the United States discussed punitive measures against General al-Burhan last week, the Sudanese authorities announced the continuation of a major aid corridor through neighboring ChadAmerican officials assessed this step as an attempt to avoid sanctions.
But several US officials have said the evidence of chemical weapons is too compelling to ignore.
The United States has detected multiple chemical weapons tests by Sudanese forces this year, as well as two incidents in the past four months in which the weapons were used against RSF troops, two of the officials said.
The United States has also received intelligence that chemical weapons may soon be used in Bahri, north of Khartoum, where fighting has raged in recent months as the sides battle for control of the capital.
Chlorine was weaponized for the first time During World War Iand its use in combat is prohibited by international law. In the mid-2000s, Insurgents in Iraq have armed themselves with chlorine in attacks against US soldiers. It has also been used in improvised bombs by ISIS fighters and by the Assad regime in Syria.
Officials briefed on the intelligence said the information did not come from the United Arab Emirates, an American ally and staunch supporter of the RSF.
By Thursday, the Sudanese military was on the upswing. Last weekend his troops He retook the city of Wad Madani, the center of Sudan's breadbasketwhere residents praised the soldiers for ending a year-long occupation under brutal RSF control.
The victory, coupled with a charge of genocide against the American Rapid Support Force, signaled that Sudan's military was finally gaining momentum in a war it had recently appeared to be losing.
However, in recent days, there have been reports of severe repression, including torture and summary executions, by Sudanese soldiers in the region against suspected RSF personnel. The United Nations said it was “shocked” by the reports ordered an investigation to murders.
Although the use of chemical weapons was a key element in Thursday's decision to impose sanctions on General al-Burhan, the move was also in response to bombings by the military that killed dozens of civilians at the same time, as well as attacks. hospitals and other buildings protected by the laws of war.
Two US officials said the US had difficulty dealing with chemical weapons sanctions: The US did not want to protect the source and method of intelligence used to determine whether chemical weapons had been used. Officials said to release details about the holidays.
But US officials also wanted to take action against General al-Burhan before President-elect Donald J. Trump's inauguration on Monday. U.S. law requires Congress to be notified of any discovery of chemical weapons use, and officials said members of Congress are expected to be briefed on the matter at a secret hearing next month.
In addition to targeting General al-Burhan, the sanctions announced on Thursday also targeted an individual described as a Sudanese arms supplier and a Hong Kong-based company. A US official said that the company was used to supply the Sudanese army with Iranian-made drones.
The decision to impose sanctions was met with different reactions among conflict observers. John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry, a research and investigation group, hailed the sanctions as a “critical” step and called on the European Union to follow suit.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Laboratory for Humanitarian Studies at the Yale School of Public Health, questioned whether the US made the right decision. “This is due to the lack of any background information on the incident consistent with the deployment of the gas agent,” he said.
John Ismay contributed to the report.