Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) intelligence and Islamist leaders of planning what it called a “criminal scheme” to stage the use of internationally banned chemical weapons in Kordofan in order to mislead public opinion and distort facts.
In a statement, RSF spokesman al-Fateh Qureshi said specialized RSF units had tracked preparations involving individuals dressed in RSF uniforms to conduct a media deception in coordination with unnamed intelligence actors and an Arab satellite channel previously involved in “disinformation” against the group. He claimed the aim was to “shuffle the deck and cover up earlier crimes” in which those same actors allegedly used chemical agents against civilians in several states.
The US State Department announced in May that it had determined SAF units used chemical weapons during the civil war the previous year and imposed sanctions on entities it said were involved. Port Sudan SAF junta rejected the accusations as “political blackmail,” saying official reports found no chemical contamination in Khartoum or other states.
The charges come amid the war between General al-Burhan’s SAF and the RSF that has raged since April 2023. With no independent international investigation yet into competing claims of banned-weapons use, rights groups warn of heightened risks to civilians in conflict zones, particularly in Kordofan and Darfur.
