The FRANCE 24 Observers team verified videos and photos documenting chemical weapons attacks by the Sudanese army. They were filmed in September 2024 at the al-Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum, occupied at the time by the Rapid Support Forces militia. © Observers
Leading French broadcaster France 24’s investigation into chemical weapon use in Sudan has confirmed evidence of the use of chemical munitions, specifically chlorine barrels, by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). France 24 reported on two incidents both around the al-Jaili oil refinery and Garri military base near Khartoum, which the SAF had then been attempting to recapture from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The France 24 report was the first in a two-part series by their ‘Observers’ digital investigation team. The team used open-source investigation techniques (OSINT) to examine the two incidents in September 2024 in and near the al-Jaili oil refinery, north of Khartoum, which the army was attempting to recapture from the RSF. After reviewing images of the attacks gathered by the Observers, five experts confirmed they were consistent with aerial drops of chlorine barrels. France 24 stated that only the SAF possesses the aircraft needed for such bombardments.
The videos analysed by France 24 included a noticeable yellow-green gas cloud consistent with chlorine gas release. Geolocation and independent verification of the videos and photos were conducted by both the France 24 Observers team, as well as by Human Rights Watch. The geolocated materials show containers identified as chlorine barrels near impact craters. Analysis from a panel of five experts and corroborating open-source intelligence confirmed the sequence and source of the barrel drops.
A video, posted on Instagram on September 5, 2024, shows a green and yellow barrel bearing a label reading “Oxidising agent 5.1.” The France 24 team geolocated it to a military base 5 km east of the al-Jaili refinery. A second video, posted on May 23, 2025, following the announcement of US sanctions, shows the same barrel from a different angle. A man first films a small crater in the ground, then a barrel a few metres away. He says: “They fired something we don’t understand—maybe tear gas, maybe something else … It released something yellow. We don’t know what it is.” In a third video filmed at the Garri military base, 5 km east of the al-Jaili refinery, a bright yellow cloud can be seen spreading through the air.
Several experts confirmed what could be seen in the videos. “These are clearly chlorine cylinders,” said Dan Kaszeta, a specialist in chemical defence. “This type of container is used all over the world for water treatment.”
Unlike many other chemical weapons, chlorine is widely used in industry. When released into the air, however, it causes rapid suffocation and can be lethal. “It is what we call a dual-use good, its use determines whether it becomes a weapon,” explained Matteo Guidotti, a chemist and chemical weapons expert.
Frederik Coghe, a ballistics expert and professor at the Royal Military Academy of Belgium, confirmed that the images from the Garri base show an industrial chlorine barrel.
The France 24 report tracks at least one barrel to an Indian manufacturer that stated the chlorine was meant for water purification and was legally exported to Sudan through Port Sudan just a month before the attacks in September 2024. Testimonies from on-site witnesses and analysis of local and international social media, including posts from both the SAF and the RSF accounts referenced these attacks.
The SAF had already been accused earlier this year of chemical weapons use, both by the US Department of State when it imposed sanctions on the SAF, and by the New York Times. “On April 24, 2025, the United States determined that the Government of Sudan used chemical weapons in 2024.” This is how the US State Department introduced the matter in its May 22, 2025, statement announcing economic sanctions against the SAF. No further details were provided at that time by the US government.
The New York Times had gone further, citing US officials in January as saying that the Sudanese army had used chemical weapons “that appeared to use chlorine gas” against the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) militia on at least two occasions in 2024. The officials gave no details.
The investigative findings from France 24 and Human Rights Watch therefore constitute the first public, independently verified evidence supporting the original US allegations of chemical weapon use in the Sudan conflict. The France 24 report offers the most substantial public documentation to date, with video, photographic, geospatial, and testimonial verification concerning chlorine use by the SAF in 2024.
France 24 also explained that the two incidents of chemical weapon use by the SAF would constitute a flagrant breach of the country’s international obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which it ratified in 1999. The use of “asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases” on the battlefield is also classified as a war crime under the 1998 Rome Statute. The military use of chlorine would draw comparisons between Sudan and Bashar al-Assad’s regime which also used weaponised chlorine in rebel-held areas.
A second instalment is expected from France 24 in which they trace the path of the chemical weapons to reach Sudan.
