Sudan’s War: Massacres Persist as Fighting Deepens Humanitarian Crisis
On May 22, the U.S. sanctions imposed on Sudan’s coup government for using chemical weapons brought the country’s situation back onto the world stage. The two-year-long conflict in Sudan has left tens of thousands of civilians dead, in abuses that international and rights organizations have classified as war crimes—and have called for those responsible to be held to account.
In the latest developments, the Sudanese newspaper Idraak reported, citing sources in the Salaha area south of Omdurman, that “widespread violations” were committed against citizens “of Kordofan and Darfur origin, as well as South Sudanese nationals,” by the Sudanese army and allied militias. The paper says it “obtained images documenting the abuses and massacres perpetrated by the army and its allies against civilians, under the accusation of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).” It adds that soldiers from the regular army and from the Bara’a ibn Malik brigades “raided homes to seize men and young men,” before taking them to “unknown locations.”
A resident identified only as H.S., who lives in Jadin Block 11, told the paper that his 23-year-old son “was taken by an armed military unit that stormed the house, to an unknown destination.” He stressed that his son “has no ties to the RSF,” adding: “He was my only caregiver, since I suffer from a spinal‐disc illness and cannot travel during the war.”
Human rights and justice organizations have called for an international fact-finding committee to investigate these crimes and abuses allegedly carried out under the pretext of “collaboration.”
Hundreds Killed in Sennar
Meanwhile, Malik al-Hasan Aborouf, a chief of the Rufa’a tribe, said that the Sudanese army committed gruesome massacres in southern Sennar state, killing hundreds of civilians and imprisoning dozens—alleging they were RSF supporters—in the towns of Dinder and Suki. He spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, stating that “the Sudanese army killed more than 460 people and arrested around 150 others. Special Forces units and Islamist brigades carried out a massacre against communities perceived as RSF strongholds.”
He explained that he had received information from victims’ families in Sennar’s capital, Singa, indicating that “army units and allied militias—from Islamist brigades and joint forces—targeted Darfuri populations, killing dozens and torturing anyone associated with the RSF, including women.”
Separately, a civilian group calling itself the “Hausa Youth Assembly” issued a statement saying that “the tragic events following the army’s entry into Dinder and eastern Sennar resulted in the killing of more than 350 people, most of them from the Hausa tribe.” The group “holds the Sudanese army fully responsible for the massacres” and condemned the complicity of the Bara’a ibn Malik brigades (operating under army cover) and the Special Forces brigades.
Another diaspora group, the “Dinder Sons Coordination Abroad,” said that army Special Forces “committed horrific massacres in Dinder, killing 462 people, including women and children, according to preliminary figures.” Their statement added: “The army’s military formations that entered Dinder carried out revenge campaigns against civilians under false accusations of collaborating with the RSF—accusations that in no way justify such crimes, but rather reveal a deliberate intent to impose control through terror.”
Horrific Massacres in Omdurman
The atrocities in Salaha coincided with heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF in Omdurman, following the army’s declaration of control over Khartoum. The army is attempting to retake Omdurman after committing appalling massacres against civilians—documented by rights groups—including last November, when it launched indiscriminate air raids. Those strikes killed or wounded at least 650 civilians, and social-media videos showed the aftermath of an air attack on the Station 13 market in Khartoum East—images of scattered, charred bodies and flames engulfing market stalls.
The RSF condemned the raids, saying: “These repeated crimes against innocents show the world and humanity’s conscience that the Sudanese people face terrorists who have hijacked the army to carry out genocide, and collaborators who have opened the door to foreign actors entering the war to pursue their own agendas, destroying vital infrastructure.”
They added: “Air warfare crimes and attacks on civilians have continued since the 1990s, when the Islamic movement first used such weapons during the South Sudan war, and later in Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan—killing thousands of civilians, especially women and children.”
Summary Executions in Khartoum
After announcing its control of Khartoum at the end of March, the Sudanese army carried out cold-blooded field executions of civilians, according to United Nations reports. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was “deeply alarmed by credible reports of multiple summary executions of civilians across Khartoum, apparently on suspicion of collaborating with the RSF.”
He stressed that “these unlawful killings are serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law,” and called for “perpetrators—and those in leadership positions—to be held accountable under international criminal law.” He noted that the Human Rights Office had reviewed numerous shocking videos posted on social media since March 26, all apparently filmed in southern and eastern Khartoum. Those clips show armed men—some in uniform, others in civilian clothes—carrying out summary executions in public places. “In some videos, the perpetrators explicitly state they are punishing RSF supporters.”
The statement added: “For example, at least 20 civilians, including one woman, are reported to have been killed in South Belt, southern Khartoum, by the Sudanese Armed Forces and affiliated militias.”