Sudan government accused of using chemical weapons in Darfur

Survivors of alleged chemical attacks have reported their eyes and skin changing colour. Pictured: Children in North Darfur in April

Dozens of children in Darfur have died writhing in agony, allegedly killed by chemical weapons dropped on them by their own government, it is claimed.

A child's arm shows off circular wounds consistent with chemical poisoning

Amnesty International say the children are among more than 200 people estimated to have been killed by the banned weapons since January.

 Those affected by the "poisonous smoke" vomit blood, struggle to breathe and watch as their skin falls off.

The Sudanese government and rebels have been fighting in Darfur for 13 years.

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Yet the conflict and its toll on Darfur's citizens has fallen off the radar since 2004, when warnings of a potential genocide forced the outside world to act.

But a new report into repeated attacks by the Sudanese government against their own people reveals "nothing has changed", according to Tirana Hassan, Amnesty's director of crisis research.
 

'Brutality'

The human rights group's eight-month investigation uncovered "scorched earth, mass rapes, killings and bombs" in Jebel Marra, a remote region of Darfur.

Researchers also found 56 witnesses to the alleged use of chemical weapons on at least 30 occasions by Sudanese forces, who launched an offensive against the Sudan Liberation Army, led by Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) in the middle of January.

"The scale and brutality of these attacks is hard to put into words," said Ms Hassan. "The images and videos we have seen in the course of our research are truly shocking; in one a young child is screaming with pain before dying; many photos show young children covered in lesions and blisters. Some were unable to breathe and vomiting blood."