Leading French television channel France 24 has published what it describes as the first independently verified evidence of the use of chlorine gas as a chemical weapon during Sudan’s civil war, particularly during attacks in September 2024 near the Al-Jaili oil refinery and the Garri military base, north of Khartoum.
The France 24 Investigation used 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 that it fit the characteristics of aerial chlorine barrel attacks, which only the SAF has the capability to carry out.
The incidents involved the dropping of barrels filled with chlorine gas from planes during fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF militia. The respected France 24 “Observers” team said:
“Using exclusive documents, the Monitor team was able to trace how these barrels of chlorine used as chemical weapons were transported 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 specializes in public works and water treatment, an apparent reference to the production of drinking water. However, there is no indication that the chlorine barrels were imported for use in Sudanese water treatment centers.
There is no clear evidence that chlorine was ever used for the stated purpose of treating civilian water, as no records show that the barrels reached these facilities; rather, trade data links importers to military uses and business with defense suppliers. Videos and images authenticated by the France 24 Observers team showed gas clouds and debris consistent with the deployment of chemical weapons. The report includes geotagged videos showing clouds of yellow-green gas, debris from barrels of industrial chlorine typically used for water purification, and images of planes believed to belong to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The conclusions reached by the group of five independent chemical weapons experts are particularly important. They confirmed the materials matched chlorine gas 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 on the use of chemical weapons in the Sudanese conflict.
The exclusive evidence provided by France 24 goes beyond the testimonies of survivors, who reported symptoms of chemical exposure since 2024, and constitutes the strongest documentation to date of the use of chemical weapons in the Sudanese conflict.
The Sudanese Rights Alliance welcomed the France 24 report:
“These findings reaffirm the urgent need for an international investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into the use of chlorine gas and any other banned weapons in Sudan. They also highlight the need for enhanced protection of survivors, witnesses, journalists and documentation teams who remain vulnerable to reprisals if they tell the truth. It is equally important that all perpetrators be held accountable, regardless of rank or affiliation, and that sustained international attention be granted at a time when chemical attacks must no longer be allowed or ignored.
The United States determined in April 2025 that Sudan had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention and imposed sanctions on the SAF’s leadership in these attacks. The France 24 report is an important step forward as it combines an open source investigation, expert review and commercial documentation to establish the link between imported chlorine and its use as a weapon in the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
The deception that chlorine was intended to purify water is particularly shocking among those working for peace in Sudan. More than a third of Sudan’s population lacks access to clean water, making it a critical problem across the country. Chlorine is an essential ingredient in making water fit for human consumption – claiming to import it for this reason, when in fact it was always intended for use as a chemical weapon appears to be reaching a new low point in the Sudanese conflict. France 24 expressed this well by explaining that if the two barrels used during the attack had been used to purify water, they could have provided drinking water for six months to the million displaced people currently in Khartoum.
Originally published in The European Times.
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