Sudan News in Brief | 26 May 2025
Chemical bombs, Kordofan battles, humanitarian updates, and more
Chemical weapons allegedly used in Sudan
The U.S. government said Thursday it will impose new economic sanctions on Sudan’s military after determining that it used chemical weapons, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Sudan is a signatory. The sanctions include restrictions on U.S. exports to Sudan and limits on access to U.S. government lines of credit. Their impact is largely symbolic, given limited trade between the two countries.
The U.S. has not provided evidence to support the determination, though unnamed officials told The New York Times in January that the SAF used weapons with chlorine gas “in remote areas of Sudan.” Chlorine gas causes corrosive injury to the respiratory tract, leading to inflammation, scarring of lung tissue, and long-term impairment of breathing function. The Times noted previous reports of chemical weapons used in Darfur, which were documented by Amnesty International in a 2016 report.
The New York Times reported:
“Knowledge of the chemical weapons program in Sudan was limited to a small group inside the country’s military, two of the U.S. officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters. But it was clear that General al-Burhan [head of Sudan’s junta] had authorized their use, they said.”
Sudan War Monitor previously reported on widespread aerial bombing of civilian targets in Darfur and Kordofan, including with barrel bombs, and on the use of ethyl acetate firebombs recently in South Sudan. Additionally, through through our social media monitoring, we identified potentially credible reports and visual evidence of chemical weapons use, though we cannot assess the extent of these attacks.
The below videos are not geolocated but the language, soil, and vegetation are consistent with a Sudanese context. The object in the videos appears to be a damaged or detonated gas canister or chemical bomb, used in aerial chemical attacks.
Sudan’s government and supporters of the military responded to the U.S. sanctions announcement with denial and anger, comparing it the 1998 bombing of the Al-Shifa Pharmaceutical Factory by the Clinton Administration, on the alleged grounds that the factory was involved in manufacturing chemical weapons and had ties to Al-Qaeda. That bombing later was widely criticized both within the U.S. government and internationally, and the factory owner sued the U.S. government in federal court. The bombing had significant public health implications because Al-Shifa manufactured anti-malarial and veterinary drugs.
Exodus from South Kordofan town
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied Joint Force on Friday captured the town of Al-Dibeibat in South Kordofan State. Elements of SAF’s Sayyad Force (reconstituted 16th Division) and Joint Force (JEM - Martyr Khalil Ibrahim Battalion) published videos from within the city, confirming their control.
Both sides suffered casualties and equipment losses during the fighting. SAF’s advance along this axis brings them closer to restoring control of the road linking El Obeid to Dilling and Kadugli, which is besieged by the RSF and SPLM-North.
An estimated 565 households fled from Al-Dibeibat due to the clashes, according to the International Organization for Migration. Given an average household size of five to six people, this represents a total displacement of approximately 3,000 people. Households were primarily displaced to locations across Al Quoz, Abu Zabad, and As Salam localities in South Kordofan.
Sudan’s military previously dropped explosive barrel bombs on Al-Dibeibat, a city located within a majority Arab-inhabited region of South Kordofan.
Video: SAF troops with a captured RSF vehicle in Al-Dibeibat, which they say belonged to the RSF commander Hussein Barshom, 23 May 2025.
Video (graphic): RSF soldiers with a captured vehicle belonging to SAF’s 16th Infantry Division near Al-Dibeibat, 23 May 2025. The decal on the vehicle commemorates division commander Maj-Gen. Yasser Fadlallah, who was killed in August 2023.
In Brief
A cholera outbreak is spreading through Khartoum, Sennar, and Al-Jazeera states. Power outages, fuel shortages, and water shortages, caused by drone strikes on critical infrastructure, are exacerbating the outbreak and inhibiting the medical response. The UN Designated Export on Human Rights in Sudan, Radhouane Nouicer, commented, “The recurrent drone attacks on critical infrastructure place civilian lives at risk, worsen the humanitarian crisis, and undermine basic human rights. The magnitude of these attacks represents a major escalation in the conflict.”
The UK Royal Navy-sponsored UKMTO Ops Center, which issues piracy and navigation warnings to merchant vessels, reported that ships in the Red Sea are experiencing GPS interference that is “significantly impacting upon electronic navigation aids,” particularly along the Sudanese coast. This could be related to drone-jamming devices employed by the Sudanese military in response to recent attacks on infrastructure in Port Sudan.
Reports and videos [graphic] have emerged of new extrajudicial killings carried out by the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade and SAF troops in Salha area of Omdurman after SAF captured the area last week. The attacks targeted ethnic minorities, including South Sudanese. “Southerners or dogs?” said a combatant as he filmed a group of bodies in civilian clothes. This follows a pattern of massacres previously documented by Sudan War Monitor and other human rights groups.
RSF troops under Col. Saleh Al-Futi arrested eight citizens of Muglad in West Kordofan on Saturday, accusing them of supporting SAF.
Suleiman Mohammed Bureimah, aka “Suleib al-Deek,” leader of an armed group operating in North and West Kordofan, was reportedly killed in a targeted drone strike in Gileisa of Abu Zabad Locality of West Kordofan State. He and his forces had gained a reputation for banditry, extortion, and raiding, sometimes in coordination with the RSF. Suleib was accused of publicly executing a pharmacist in the Gileisa town square earlier this month.
Authorities in White Nile have tightened security at the Joda border crossing with South Sudan, fearing RSF infiltrators. Previous reports indicate that RSF units have operated from inside South Sudan’s Renk County, and the border in this area is a potential flashpoint in the event of a war between the two Sudans.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs tweeted Sunday, “32,550 metric tons of bulk USAID Title II wheat grain, consigned to the World Food Programme, has arrived in Port Sudan. This wheat grain will help meet the food aid needs of as many as 3,255,000 people for an entire month. Foreign assistance continues to arrive in Sudan, including humanitarian assistance.”
This follows a report by Reuters that 60,000 metric tonnes of food, sourced from U.S. farms, is sitting unused in warehouses operated by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance after the Trump Administration slashed global aid programs. Some stocks are likely to be destroyed, sources said. The supplies are valued at over $98 million and could feed over a million people for three months.
Excerpt from recent Reuters report on U.S. humanitarian aid cuts.
Why we do this work
At Sudan War Monitor, we believe that journalism can be a tool for peace and justice in Sudan — however distant that hope may be. It helps hold perpetrators accountable, counters hate and misinformation, and encourages the search for solutions. Our work is intended to be a resource for humanitarians, activists, journalists, diplomats, Sudanese citizens, and concerned readers worldwide.
Our newsletters focus on:
✅ Investigating human rights abuses committed by all sides.
✅ Documenting the human toll, including casualty estimates & victim stories.
✅ Verifying videos and debunking misinformation.
✅ Tracking the humanitarian crisis and efforts to aid those affected.
✅ Mapping and analyzing military campaigns and key events.
✅ Reporting on political and diplomatic efforts to end the war.
We are independent and not affiliated with any of the warring parties.