Witness describes choking victims after suspected chemical incident in Sudan's capital
A car salesman traveling near Shindi saw five men struggling to breathe after an alleged chemical attack in the Bahri area of Khartoum, and was warned by soldiers to leave.
In early September 2024, a 50-year-old car salesman traveling toward Shindi observed five men appearing ill with breathing problems near the Al Jaili oil refinery in the Al Jaili district of Bahri, part of the Khartoum metropolitan area. He was in a zone under Sudanese Armed Forces control but close to Rapid Support Forces positions, and heard heavy gunfire nearby. When he approached the soldiers on the scene, they instructed him to leave the area immediately.
A minibus without plates subsequently took the five men away. The witness later heard that the location had been contaminated and that two civilians later died in hospital due to the exposure. While the incident matches other allegations of chlorine weapon use by the SAF, no additional eyewitnesses have confirmed the event.
Why it matters
It highlights possible use of chemical weapons in Sudan's ongoing conflict, raising humanitarian and accountability concerns.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage centers on a dossier alleging the Sudanese army produced and stored chlorine weapons, while centrist coverage focuses on a single eyewitness account of choking victims at a suspected chemical incident.
LEFT
Frames the story as evidence of a systematic chemical weapons program by the Sudanese army, presented through a new dossier that could expand reports of atrocities.
CENTER
Frames the story as a singular, unverified eyewitness report of a possible chemical exposure incident, noting the lack of additional confirmation.
The left emphasises
- the dossier "suggests the Sudanese army created and stockpiled chlorine weapons"
- the claims are based on "documents, videos and text messages supplied by unnamed Middle Eastern security officials"
- if verified, the allegations would "add to reports of widespread atrocities"
Possibly left out
- Left-leaning coverage reports a dossier alleging chlorine weapon production, absent from The National
- One outlet's reports an eyewitness account of choking victims, absent from left-leaning coverage
In this story
