Chlorine to purify water was turned into weapon of war in Sudan

Chlorine imported to Sudan for drinking water treatment was instead weaponised and dropped in aerial attacks, reported France 24 on 29 November.

An investigation has documented what appears to be the first public evidence that chlorine barrels imported for civilian water treatment in Sudan were repurposed as chemical weapons and dropped from the air over populated areas in the war torn Khartoum region.

According to the report, on 5 and 13 September 2024, two chlorine barrels were dropped by aircraft over the area around al-Jaili oil refinery and a nearby military base (Garri military base), both then controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Videos and photos analysed by France 24’s “Observers” team show industrial chlorine cylinders near small craters and a yellow-green cloud characteristic of chlorine gas. Five chemical-weapons and ballistics experts independently concluded that the evidence is consistent with aerial drops of chlorine barrels.

The chlorine was not originally intended for weapons use and the barrels were imported by Ports Engineering Company which is a Sudanese firm with ties to the military from an Indian company, Chemtrade International Corporation. Chemtrade said it had been assured the shipment was “only to treat potable water.”

If used as intended, a single barrel could have provided clean water for six months to about a million displaced people which would have been a critical humanitarian benefit in a country where many lack access to safe drinking water but instead of water treatment, the chlorine became a weapon. The only armed group in Sudan known to have the capacity to carry out airstrikes is the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

According to Frances 24, the findings point to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the only group in the country known to operate military aircraft, though the Sudanese government has repeatedly denied responsibility.

Human rights monitor Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for an international, transparent investigation, noting that chlorine gas is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Sudan is a signatory  and its use in warfare constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The investigation used open-source intelligence including social media posts from pro-RSF and pro-SAF accounts, geolocation of video footage, expert analysis, and commercial shipping documents including a bill of lading identifying a barrel with the serial number “GC-1983-1715.” That barrel was among a shipment of 17 chlorine cylinders loaded in Mumbai on 14 July 2024 and delivered to Port Sudan by mid-August.

Sudan is currently facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced, widespread disease and limited access to clean water. The use of chlorine intended for civilian water treatment in the conflict has drawn concern from humanitarian groups.

This exposure is a stark indictment of oversight failures as industrial-use chlorine was not sufficiently safeguarded, allowing military forces to handle and weaponise material supposedly meant for humanitarian purposes. The investigation raises urgent questions about import regulations, transparency and accountability of military-linked companies, and above all, protection of civilians in Sudan’s brutal conflict.

The newly documented use of chlorine marks a troubling escalation as it is the first verified public case in which industrial chemicals intended for water treatment appear to have been deployed as weapons in Sudan. The international community now faces pressing questions of whether there will there be a full investigation and whether there will be justice for those exposed.

France24, Maghreb.org