With U.S. sanctions set to bite on June 1, Sudan’s military junta leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan has scrambled to appoint a committee to “investigate” American accusations that his forces unleashed chemical weapons.
Analysts call the move a transparent bid to manufacture a scapegoat, not the truth.
Six months have passed since Washington first sanctioned Burhan for alleged war crimes, including indiscriminate shelling, summary executions and the use of internationally banned munitions. Burhan ignored every allegation—until the clock ran out. Now, facing a near-total halt in U.S. exports and credit, he suddenly promises “swift results.”
Rights groups aren’t buying it. They say Burhan’s Port Sudan command and its Islamist militias have left a trail of evidence from Darfur to the Nile, including a leaked video last week showing suspected chemical strikes.
“This committee looks tailored to shift blame onto expendable foot soldiers while the architects of these crimes keep their ranks,” said Sudanese analyst Ammar Saeed.
U-turn after fiery rhetoric
Even Burhan’s own ministers had dismissed the U.S. dossier as “political blackmail” just days ago. The abrupt U-turn, observers note, reveals less about any quest for justice than about panic in the presidential palace: angering President Donald Trump could shut the door on desperately needed negotiations.
The panel’s mandate is vague, its membership undisclosed, and its deadline fluid—classic ingredients, critics say, for a whitewash.
If the findings follow Khartoum’s playbook, expect “hostile elements” or a renegade unit such as the Islamist Baraa bin Malik militia to take the fall while senior commanders walk free.
Washington has already accused Burhan’s forces (SAF) of bombing hospitals, leveling markets and blocking aid. Should fresh evidence tie the general directly to chemical attacks, sanctions could evolve into international indictments—an outcome the new committee appears designed to forestall, not facilitate.
