With tension yet to simmer down in Sudan, concerns are growing over the increasing hostilities, arbitrary arrests, and persecution of civilian populations believed to be from minority groups in the western parts of the country.
A nation of diversity under siege
Sudan is home to 570 tribes, categorized into 56 or 57 ethnic groups based on linguistic, cultural, and ethnographic characteristics. The country boasts 114 written and spoken languages, 50 of which are primarily spoken in South Sudan. These tribes are geographically distributed: Nubian tribes reside in the far north, Arab tribes dominate the central and White Nile regions, Beja tribes are in the east, Fur tribes in the west, Mabaan and Ingessana tribes in the Blue Nile region, and Nuba tribes in the southern-central region of Sudan (administered as part of Kordofan).
Bloodshed and racial persecution
Amidst the ongoing war, several observers have raised alarm over what they describe as systematic ethnic cleansing in western Sudan by forces loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. These observers point out that many of the officers involved are graduates of the Military Academy—individuals trained to distinguish right from wrong—yet are reportedly carrying out brutal killings of innocent civilians, labeling them “slaves” and executing them in cold blood, without any direct involvement in the conflict.
Other observers have also reported massacres in neighborhoods such as Haj Yousif, Jabraona, Al-Iskan, and Mayo, where al-Burhan’s forces and extremist battalions have slaughtered civilians amid chants of religious exultation, employing terror as a systematic tool. They warn that even RSF supporters or those who chant pro-Burhan slogans are not spared, as certain groups of people have already been declared “rebellious.”
These observers call on the RSF to protect the people of western Sudan from both the army’s oppression and extremist Islamic battalions, framing this responsibility as both a social and historical duty—especially two years into a war with no end in sight.
Institutionalised division
An assessment of the situation suggests that as the brutal civil war in Sudan enters its third year, recent political and military developments have the potential to bring about a turning point.
This placement provides useful context and encourages deeper reading without disrupting flow. However, entrenched realities such as discrimination, the collapse of civic space, and the rise of armed groups and warlords have become normalised, threatening Sudan’s social fabric.
The analysis emphasises the army’s heavy reliance on aerial bombardments in western Sudan, which has resulted in massive infrastructure damage, displacement, and high civilian casualties. These tactics are unlikely to change, making violence and civilian suffering likely to intensify. This risks further ethnicising the conflict and reinforcing national fragmentation, raising concerns over the normalisation of rhetoric around geographical partition.
The civic sphere is under siege. Grassroots humanitarian groups such as Emergency Rooms and professional unions are under systematic attack. Humanitarian organisations, among them Doctors Without Borders and most recently, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate have expressed concern over medical teams being detained in, among others, areas entered by Islamist battalions, particularly in Gezira State.
RSF’s position against religious militias
Two weeks ago, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued a warning about the danger posed by terrorist militias to the future of Sudan and broader regional and international security. The RSF noted with concern the expanding presence of Islamist extremist groups in Sudan and the Red Sea region, who are using civil infrastructure and state institutions to wage a war they refuse to end peacefully.
According to the RSF, Sudan’s core crisis—persisting for three decades—is driven by the Islamist movement and its militias, led by al-Burhan’s generals and Iranian-aligned networks. These forces seek total control of state power and resources, obstruct democratic transition, and use armed force to impose their rule.
These groups, operating from Port Sudan, rely on fighter jets, drones, and heavy artillery to bomb cities and villages—systematically targeting civilians in Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Khartoum. These acts amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The RSF views the Islamist movement and its local and foreign militias as the greatest threat to Sudan’s unity and future, and as a direct threat to regional and international security through their support of cross-border militant groups and cultivation of extremism in the Horn of Africa, Sahel, and Red Sea regions.
The RSF reaffirms its alignment with the oppressed and marginalised and advocates for change—committed to freedom, justice, and peace. It asserts that lasting peace in Sudan requires dismantling the Islamist power structure and building a new, democratic, inclusive state founded on equal citizenship, good governance, and the rule of law.
The RSF reiterates its call for a comprehensive political solution that ends historical imbalances and creates a new Sudan free from elitist and sectarian domination, ensuring fair representation for historically marginalised regions, which constitute the majority of Sudan’s population.
The statement concludes by envisioning an end to war that ushers in a bright future, with a reimagined Sudan free of dictatorship, racism, discrimination, and tyranny—a new chapter grounded in freedom, equality, justice, and peace.
Darfur and the “western faces” doctrine
The discriminatory rhetoric from Sudan army’s chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his Islamist allies is most evident in two key narratives: the Darfur issue and what is referred to as the “Western Faces Law.”
In a recent speech, Ali Karti, a top architect of Sudan’s previous Islamist regime, suggested that Darfur’s secession might be a peaceful solution. However, some war and crisis experts argue that his remarks reveal the deeply racist and fascist mindset that governed Sudan for over three decades—one that treated the “other” Sudanese as burdens rather than partners in nation-building.
These experts warn that such rhetoric is part of a broader Islamist strategy to evade justice, and they call for both legal and moral accountability.
The so-called “Western Faces Law”—a term referencing the military’s systematic targeting of people who do not originate from eastern and northern Sudan—is described as a toxic blend of racism and vengeance. It allegedly singles out specific tribes and regions, particularly in Darfur and Kordofan, based on ethnic profiling.
According to Emergency Lawyers’ Mohamed Salah, this practice not only violates Sudan’s constitution but also further implicates the army’s leadership in serious legal and human rights violations.
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