Graphic content warning: Execution-style beheadings described.
Slaughter and gunfire—executions carried out in what witnesses described as an ISIS-like manner—this is how civilians were cold-bloodedly put to death in the city of El-Obeid, North Kordofan, allegedly at the hands of members of the Sudanese army and affiliated mercenaries.
In a video widely circulated by Sudanese activists, chants of “Allahu Akbar” echo from the soldiers’ side as the victims, stripped of any defense or dignity, surrender to their fate—trapped in the hands of extremist militants.
According to accounts shared online, the victims belonged to local tribes accused of forming a social base for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), affiliated with the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasis). Their bodies were later seen piled into a truck—an image that has come to symbolise the dehumanising horror of Sudan’s ongoing war.
(Read more about Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe here).
A continuing pattern
The atrocities in El-Obeid mirror the method reportedly adopted by the Sudanese army in Port Sudan since mid-April 2023—suggesting a pattern rather than isolated acts.
In April 2024, footage surfaced showing soldiers celebrating after killing several unarmed individuals in civilian clothes. Human rights observers indicated at the time that these victims were passengers removed from a public vehicle and executed on suspicion of RSF affiliation.
The incident followed what became known as the “Beheading Crime,” also referred to as the Tukhchar Massacre—some of which have been documented by the United Nations in Sudan—where a video showed Sudanese army soldiers displaying the severed heads of people they claimed were RSF members. It was later revealed that the victims were in fact young civilians captured while traveling to central Sudan.
Prominent political figures condemned the acts. Khalid Omar Yousif, deputy head of the Sudanese Congress Party, described the video as “an extension of a growing pattern of terrorism,” adding that the violence “is turning this cursed war into a total conflict fueled by social hatreds that will spare nothing and no one.”
Yousif urged that those documented committing such atrocities “must be prosecuted,” warning that “failing to recognise the depravity of this war reflects a loss of moral insight.”
Ethnic purges and human rights concerns
Several human rights observers indicated at the time that “the Sudanese army, backed by extremist elements, continues to commit brutal crimes against innocent citizens on ethnic and regional grounds,” referring to the El-Obeid massacre as a particularly heinous example.
Reports noted that “the victims were civilians taken off a small truck (Dafar) and, under direct orders from a brigadier, were slaughtered—as shown in circulated footage depicting soldiers chanting Allahu Akbar while executing the captives.”
Observers warned that such terrorist-style acts are intensifying under a growing tide of hate speech and calls for tribal war.
They called on the international community to act swiftly to protect civilians, pressure both warring parties back to the negotiating table, and restore Sudan’s path toward civilian rule.
(See how the Darfur government condemned the atrocities.)
Calls for war despite mounting suffering
Despite repeated international appeals to end the suffering of Sudanese civilians, the army and Islamist factions entrenched within its command structures in Port Sudan appear determined to continue the conflict.
As one Sudanese activist observed, “We hear daily those who call for the continuation of war in the name of ‘dignity,’ then shed tears over its victims. It is a painful paradox.”
He added that this paradox reflects a deep crisis within Sudanese collective consciousness—one shaped by decades of propaganda and ideological manipulation. For many, he said, “war has come to be seen as salvation, peace as weakness, and killing as the path to victory.”
The activist further noted that Islamist groups have turned war into a “symbolic value cloaked in virtue,” presenting it as an existential struggle rather than a political power contest. Over decades, they replaced moral meaning with militarism, teaching generations that “obedience is salvation and dissent is treason.”
(See related coverage: ICC case filed against Port Sudan leaders over war crimes)
Unconventional violations in Darfur
The Sudanese army has also been accused of committing new forms of atrocities in Al-Fashir, Darfur—recently liberated by forces of the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasis).
Field investigations revealed that massacres there were carried out by an unknown militia reportedly linked to Port Sudan’s command, apparently to divert attention from battlefield losses.
On October 28, 2025, the Tasis government announced the formation of investigative committees to verify the authenticity of the footage documenting alleged crimes in Al-Fashir, stating:
“We reaffirm our condemnation of all violations and our commitment to stopping them—as declared by all our military and political leaders.”
(Read more on the Turkish drone strike in Sudan’s Al-Zurq market)
The people as a priority
In a related statement, the Darfur Regional Government expressed deep concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Al-Fashir, where continued hostilities and restrictions on aid have caused severe shortages of food, medicine, and clean water.
It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting civilians in coordination with local authorities, regular forces, and the federal police, calling on humanitarian organisations to expedite relief efforts and pledging to facilitate aid delivery and ensure the safety of aid workers.
(Also read: Fact Check – Viral video of NATO drill in Estonia misrepresented as fighting in Sudan)
The road to accountability
The horrors emerging from El-Obeid and Al-Fashir form part of Sudan’s broader humanitarian tragedy—one that continues to unfold amid silence, misinformation, and competing narratives.
The international community’s challenge now is to move beyond condemnation and act decisively to halt a war that has already robbed millions of dignity, home, and hope.
(See how global voices once rallied for Sudan here.)
.){kind=link}