Sudan’s government has expressed its readiness to cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in verifying US allegations that the Sudanese military used chemical weapons.
It stressed that the national committee it previously established was never intended to replace the international mechanisms provided for under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
For the first time, Khartoum disclosed that it had maintained a bilateral mechanism with the United States that discussed the allegations for more than a year. It said it repeatedly invited Washington to send US experts to conduct an on-site investigation but received no response.
In a statement issued Thursday evening, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said the bilateral mechanism had examined the allegations for more than a year and that the government had repeatedly proposed dispatching American experts to Sudan to verify the claims firsthand. It noted that the United States declined those invitations.
The disclosure marks the Sudanese government’s first official acknowledgment of prolonged bilateral consultations with Washington since the allegations surfaced and the United States imposed sanctions based on them.
The ministry said the government had never claimed that its national committee could substitute for the OPCW or the convention’s international verification procedures. It emphasized that the committee was established in accordance with Sudan’s obligations under the treaty and as part of the state’s responsibility to examine the allegations, while reaffirming Khartoum’s willingness to cooperate fully with the OPCW under the convention’s procedures.
The statement came in response to remarks by the US State Department, which said the findings of any national investigation could not replace investigations conducted by the OPCW.
Sudan has previously rejected the work of the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, established in October 2023 to investigate violations committed during the war, and opposed the extension of its mandate, accusing it of bias against the military.
The Foreign Ministry noted that the mission’s mandate differs from that of the OPCW: the former investigates alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, while the latter is responsible for the technical verification of alleged chemical weapons use.
The ministry also expressed surprise at what it described as Washington’s disregard for more than a year of bilateral consultations, saying the United States had failed to provide any material or technical evidence to support its allegations during that period.
The United States imposed sanctions on Sudan’s military-led government after determining that the Sudanese Armed Forces had used chemical weapons in 2024. The measures included restrictions on US exports, financing, and non-humanitarian assistance, followed by a second package that took effect on July 20.
Sudan reiterated its categorical rejection of the allegations, arguing that Washington imposed the sanctions without presenting evidence or resorting to the procedures established under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
It said the measures were driven more by political considerations than by legal or technical facts and called on the international community to reject the politicization of international mechanisms and uphold the principles of justice, impartiality, and the rule of law.
Deadly Attack in North Kordofan
Separately, the North Kordofan state government said 15 civilians were killed and seven others wounded in an attack on the town of Barbar, south of El Obeid and west of El Rahad, blaming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
A statement issued by the state’s Security Committee said the attack directly targeted civilians, looted livestock, and spread panic among residents, describing it as another violation of international humanitarian law.
The RSF has not commented on the accusations or the casualty toll reported by the North Kordofan state government.
