28 March 2025.
The undersigned organizations are horrified by the new round of violence and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the parties to the armed conflict in Sudan and their allied militia groups since late last week. Civilians continue to shoulder an unbearable burden of wanton violence and human suffering due to the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its allies on the one hand, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies on the other.
In brutal and repeated aerial attacks, a SAF’s military jet bombarded Tura area – 40 km north of El-Fasher, capital city of North Darfur State on Monday, 24 March 2025 leaving at least 250 people dead and many others injured or maimed for life. The attacks, which are believed to be carried out by shrapnel-filled barrel bombs, were reported during Ramadan shopping season, where hundreds of civilians from nearby villages gathered at a popular weekly marketplace to trade and secure their basic needs. There is no military presence in proximity of the area to justify such a deliberate and deadly aerial bombardment of civilian targets. SAF’s partial recapture of Khartoum State on Friday, 21 March 2025 was followed by a horrendous spate of human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Most likely that several hundreds of RSF fighters in the Presidential Palace and its environs were “totally exterminated” according to a media pronouncement by SAF’s spokesperson on 21 March 2025. He added that the security forces are pursuing efforts to clean the country of RSF. There are reports that SAF, the security forces and their allied militias are conducting a witch hunt campaign in which civilians, accused of being RSF’s supporters, are extrajudicially killed, arbitrary detained and abused all-over Khartoum and its twin cities Khartoum North (Bahri) and Omdurman.
On 22 March 2025, the RSF captured Al-Malha area and inflicted heavy casualties among the army and the Joint Forces (Umbrella group of former Insurgent Groups from Darfur). Unknown number of SAF combatants and their allies were killed during the attack on this strategic area and the military base near it. It was reported that the RSF and its allies looted the area and at least 40 civilians were killed during the attack. It is believed that the violence displaced an estimated 15 thousand families since 20th March 2025. It is also reported that RSF’s shelling of EL-Fasher on 23 March 2025 killed 8 people including 6 children.
The wanton violence and mayhem in Sudan is a scar on the world’s collective conscience. Inaction of the world to put an end to this human tragedy is unacceptable. In this respect, we recall relevant resolutions of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and the UN Security Council (UNSC), notably Communiqué (PSC/HOSG/COMM.1218(2024) and Communiqué PSC/HoSG/COMM. 1261.1 (2025) adopted by AUPSC at the level of Heads of State and Government on 21 June 2024 and 14 February 2025 respectively as well as resolution (S/RES/2736(2024) adopted by UNSC on 13 June 2024, which called on SAF and the RSF to de-escalate the situation and agree on immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to sustainable resolution to the armed conflict through dialogue.
We strongly call that:
- The warring parties put an immediate and unconditional halt to all military operations, notably aerial bombardments and the use of heavy artillery in civilian areas. The parties should fully respect international standards on matters of protection of civilians.
- The African Union needs to scale up its intervention in Sudan and take the lead and guide the international community to dispatch a military force to protect civilians. It should pressurize the parties to reach a negotiated settlement of this devastating armed conflict without delay.
Signed:
- African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, Banjul.
- African Organization for Rights and Development, Kampala.
- Al Fajr Organization for Peace, Development and Justice, Nairobi.
- Canabi Congress, Sudan.
- Darfur Victims Support Organization, Kampala.
- Democratic Monitor for Transparency and Rights, Kampala.
- Human Rights Institute of South Africa, Johannesburg.
- Independent Commission for Human Rights in Norh Africa, Morocco.
- Lifeline Relief and Rehabilitation Organization, Kampala.
- Nubian Center for Peace and Democracy, Kampala.
- Sudan Knowledge Centre, Switzerland.
- Sudanese Refugees Advocacy Group, Australia.
- Sudanese Women Union, Khartoum/Nairobi
- The Agricultural Workers Initiative for Rights and Development, Kampala.
- Ubuntu Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, Kampala
For more information, please contact
Mr. Abdelmageed Haroun at: haroun@aford.org, Tel/WhatsApp +256 7 621 97 247.