U.S. Doubles Down on Alleged Sudanese Chemical Weapons Use

September 2026
By Libby Flatoff

The United States implemented additional sanctions and called for further investigation into chemical weapons use by Sudan in 2024.              

The additional economic sanctions went into effect July 20 as Sudan continued to deny the chemical weapon use allegations. New sanctions included aviation restrictions preventing airlines owned by Sudan’s government from engaging in any air transportation to or from the United States.

During the 112th session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) July 7-10, the United States reiterated its allegations that Sudan “used chemical weapons in 2024 and remained in non-compliance in 2025.”

In April 2025, Washington first announced that it, “determined under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 … that the Government of Sudan used chemical weapons in 2024.”

As a result, the United States implemented its first round of sanctions against Sudan for chemical weapons use June 26 and 27. The sanctions were to remain in place for at least one year and followed a France 24 investigation published in November 2025 that found strong evidence of chlorine gas used as a chemical weapon by the Sudanese Army Forces in 2024 (See ACT, January/February 2026.)

In response to these initial allegations and sanctions, Sudan formed an internal national technical committee. In May 2025, the Sudan Tribune quoted Sudan’s army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, as saying that the purpose of the committee was “to investigate the American allegations, and it is to submit its report immediately.”

The Sudanese government committee’s interim report was circulated at the OPCW’s July session and concluded: “Based on the information reviewed, field inspections conducted, interviews undertaken, and observations made during the reporting period, the National Committee has not, identified any material, technical, or documentary evidence that substantiates the allegations concerning the use of chemical weapons in the locations examined.”

Delivering the U.S. statement at the OPCW session, Ambassador Nicole Shampaine emphasized that “domestic bureaucratic mechanisms are not a substitute for treaty compliance and independent verification.” She called on Sudan to grant the OPCW Technical Secretariat “unhindered, transparent access.”

After the session, Sudan’s foreign ministry issued a statement asserting that the United States had ignored proposals to verify the chemical weapons use allegations, the Sudan Tribune reported. “The government of Sudan proposed through the joint mechanism to send U.S. experts to Sudan for field investigation and direct verification of claims regarding the army’s use of chemical weapons, but the American side refrained from responding to these invitations.”