Chlorine in Khartoum: Chemical Weapons in 2025

Explore the chilling resurgence of chemical weapons in Sudan’s ongoing conflict and the global implications of their use. From the trenches of World War I to Assad’s atrocities and today’s looming threat in Khartoum, this episode unpacks the history, impact, and unanswered questions surrounding these weapons of fear.

Be advised: this episode discusses war, genocide, and the use of chemical weapons. 

Sources: 

Natasha Hall, “Emerging Trends in Chemical Weapons Usage in the Middle East,” n.d.; David Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, and Daphne Psaledakis, “US Issues Sanctions on Sudanese Army Chief Burhan,” Reuters, January 16, 2025, sec. World, https://www.reuters.com/world/us-impose-sanctions-sudanese-leader-burhan-2025-01-16/; Clare Lombardo, “More Than 300 Chemical Attacks Launched During Syrian Civil War, Study Says,” NPR, February 17, 2019, sec. World, https://www.npr.org/2019/02/17/695545252/more-than-300-chemical-attacks-launched-during-syrian-civil-war-study-says; OPCW, “What Is a Chemical Weapon?,” Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, accessed January 16, 2025, https://www.opcw.org/our-work/what-chemical-weapon; UNODA, “Chemical Weapons,” United Nations, accessed January 16, 2025, https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/chemical/; Declan Walsh and Julian E. Barnes, “Sudan’s Military Has Used Chemical Weapons Twice, U.S. Officials Say,” The New York Times, January 16, 2025, sec. World, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/world/africa/sudan-chemical-weapons-sanctions.html; “Chemical Weapons: Frequently Asked Questions,” Arms Control Association, accessed January 17, 2025, https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/chemical-weapons-frequently-asked-questions#III; “Chemotherapy: From the Trenches of Warfare A Weapon to Fight Cancer,” Clinical Trials at Yale, accessed January 17, 2025, https://medicine.yale.edu/ycci/clinicaltrials/learnmore/tradition/chemotherapy/; “OPCW by the Numbers,” OPCW, accessed January 16, 2025, https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/opcw-numbers; “Sudan Crisis Explained,” UN Refugees, accessed January 16, 2025, https://www.unrefugees.org/news/sudan-crisis-explained/; “Voices of the First World War: Gas Attack At Ypres,” Imperial War Museums, accessed January 17, 2025, https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-the-first-world-war-gas-attack-at-ypres; “New Weapons Fuelling the Sudan Conflict.Pdf” (Amnesty International, 2024); “Civil War in Sudan | Global Conflict Tracker,” Council on Foreign Relations, October 3, 2024, https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/power-struggle-sudan; “Sudan and Darfur Sanctions,” Office of Foreign Assets Control, January 16, 2025, https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/sudan-and-darfur-sanctions. 

Music by:

"Music for Manatees" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Super Power Cool Dude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/