Daily Briefing: Sudan’s Chlorine Claims, and Allies Move Against Israeli Settlements

The United Nations Security Council chamber at UN headquarters in New York, seen empty from the front — The UN Security Council chamber in New York. The Council must decide by 12 September whether to renew and widen Sudan’s arms embargo, and its members are split. Photo: James D. Forrester, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Nexa Insight · Regional Analysis · Daily Briefing

Verified developments, 9–10 September 2026 | What happened, not what it means — the analysis is in the Weekly Update.

I · Horn of Africa

Horn of Africa today

Former weapons inspectors say witness accounts support claims that Sudan’s army used chlorine bombs in 2024, and they want an official investigation. The Darfur arms-embargo deadline is now two days away, with no vote set.

1. Sudan / chemical-weapons claims. Former officials of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — the global body that enforces the ban on chemical arms — said they had interviewed eight witnesses in Nairobi and found “a number of credible incidents involving unexplained illness following military activity”. Witnesses described an attack on the Al Jili oil refinery near Khartoum, reporting barrel-shaped objects dropped from the air, an unfamiliar smell, and breathing problems. The former inspectors called for an official OPCW investigation. Sudan’s army again denied using chemical weapons. This is witness testimony gathered by former officials, not an official finding. — The National, 9 September.

2. Sudan / the arms embargo. The Darfur arms ban expires on 12 September — two days away. The United States, which drafts this file at the Security Council, still wants the ban kept, widened to cover all of Sudan, and extended to name drones. Russia warned again this week against steps that would weaken the Sudanese army; China also resists a wider ban. No vote had been scheduled as of 10 September. — Security Council Report, September 2026 forecast; France24.

Elsewhere in the Horn — fighting around El Obeid in North Kordofan and in West Darfur continues, as set out in Weekly Update Issue No. 6. Ethiopia’s Amhara and Oromia fronts, the Ethiopia–Eritrea border build-up, and South Sudan’s path to its 22 December election are unchanged; no new development cleared verification in the last 48 hours.

II · Middle East

Middle East today

Britain and eleven other governments imposed sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and banned goods made there. In Gaza, the ceasefire holds only on paper.

1. West Bank / settlement sanctions. Britain announced sanctions on people and companies involved in building Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, together with a ban on imports of goods produced in the settlements. Eleven other governments joined: Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. British officials called the occupation unlawful. Israel rejected the move. — Axios, 9 September; The Times of Israel, 9 September.

2. Gaza. Israeli strikes were reported on Khan Younis and central Gaza on 9 September. Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,352 Palestinians since the ceasefire began in October 2025; this is a ministry figure and is not independently verified. Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said Israel is not planning to expel anyone from Gaza, but would not stop people who choose to leave. — The Times of Israel, 9 September.

Elsewhere in the Middle East — Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on 6–7 September, the deadliest there in weeks, were covered in Wednesday’s briefing; the Washington Post reported on 8 September that Israel has stepped up strikes and that the June ceasefire with Hezbollah is under strain. No new strike cleared verification in the last 48 hours, and nothing new cleared verification in Syria or the Gulf states.

III · The Great Powers

The balance of power today

Washington chose not to block its allies from sanctioning Israeli settlements — a sign of where United States backing for Israel now has limits. The Sudan embargo deadline is two days off, with the United States, Russia and China still apart.

1. United States · the United Kingdom. The White House did not object to the British-led sanctions on Israeli settlements. Prime Minister Andy Burnham briefed President Trump before the announcement, and Trump did not push back. Officials said the non-objection reflected United States frustration with the Israeli government’s settlement policy. The United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, criticised the British move; the White House said his comments were not coordinated with it. — Axios, 9 September; The Times of Israel, 9 September.

2. United States · Russia · China. Two days before Sudan’s Darfur arms embargo expires, the split reported all week holds. Washington wants the ban widened to the whole country and drones named; Moscow and Beijing resist. The new chemical-weapons claims add pressure but have not moved either side’s public position. — Security Council Report.

3. United States · Iran. The tanker war in the Gulf continues, with no sign of a return to talks between Washington and Tehran. The United States is still relying on naval pressure rather than diplomacy to raise the cost of the war for Iran. — Al Jazeera, ongoing coverage.

Abdinasir Hassan Timoweyne is Chairperson of the Nexa Research and Training Centre and a political analyst specialising in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. He lectures in International Relations at New Generation University.