Experts Call for International Probe into Suspected Chlorine Attack at Sudan Oil Refinery

Former OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism chief Mark Albon told a Geneva Press Club webinar that investigators have “every reason to believe” a chemical weapon was used at the Al-Jaili refinery north of Khartoum in September 2024. He cited strong circumstantial evidence from media footage, videos and interviews with alleged victims, though the passage of time and denied site access stop definitive identification of the chemical involved.

Albon and former OPCW director for international cooperation urged an independent, possibly UN-OPCW, forensic mission to examine the site. Robert Fairweather added that the alleged chlorine attack mirrors tactics seen in Syria and warned that inaction could encourage copycat use elsewhere. The call comes as Sudan’s conflict, raging since April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has forced about 14 million people from their homes and drawn US sanctions over earlier chemical-weapon accusations. International scrutiny of the incident could shape future enforcement of the Chemical Weapons Convention.