BERLIN, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Syrian special forces used chemical weapons in June to kill dozens of people in Darfur, Sudan, the German newspaper Die Welt reported.
The attack came after an arrangement between Syria and the Sudanese government, Die Welt said, citing Western secret service documents and eyewitnesses as quoted in the Arab media.
Syrian officers met with Sudanese army authorities in a Khartoum, Sudan, suburb in May to discuss possible military interaction. The Syrian officers proposed cooperating on chemical weapons development.
The meeting led to initial proposals that Syria should test its chemical capabilities on members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army rebel group, but those plans were scrapped since Sudan had entered peace negotiations with that group.
A second plan -- the one that was eventually carried out -- called for testing the weapons on black African residents of the war-torn Darfur region.
At least five planes from the Syrian civil airline Syrian Arab Airlines flew Syrian chemical weapons experts into Sudan to carry out the attack.
