Sudan: Warring Parties Execute Detainees and Mutilate Bodies
Moatinoon
Human Rights Watch said today that the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, and their affiliated fighters have summarily executed individuals while in custody without trial, tortured them, mistreated them, and mutilated bodies.
The organization called on the leaders of both forces to order an immediate halt to these violations, both publicly and secretly, and to conduct effective investigations. They also urged full cooperation with international investigators, particularly the "United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan," which will include these violations in its investigation, as they constitute war crimes.
Mohammed Osman, Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated: "The warring forces in Sudan feel so immune to punishment that they repeatedly film themselves executing, torturing detainees, degrading their dignity, and mutilating bodies. These crimes should be investigated as war crimes, and those responsible, including the leaders of these forces, must be held accountable."
The organization said it analyzed 20 videos and one photo of ten incidents uploaded on social media platforms between August 24, 2023, and July 11, 2024. Eight videos and one photo depict four extrajudicial execution incidents, including mass executions of at least 40 people. Four videos show the torture and mistreatment of 18 detainees, some of whom appear injured; nine clips show the mutilation of at least eight bodies.
They noted that many of the perpetrators and victims appeared to be wearing military uniforms, suggesting they were fighters, though some victims were in civilian clothing. The detainees appeared unarmed and posed no threat to their captors; in many cases, they were bound.
The rights organization documented 20 other cases showing similar violations by both sides but did not investigate these cases. They noted that four execution cases were filmed by the perpetrators themselves, and three cases were filmed by Rapid Support Forces members, including the execution of at least 21 men in Al-Fula, West Kordofan, in June 2024; the execution of at least 14 men following Rapid Support Forces attacks on Bileil Airport in West Kordofan in October 2023; and the execution of two men 12 kilometers south of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. The fourth case was the execution of three detainees, possibly children under 18, by the Sudanese Armed Forces in October 2023 in Omdurman, northwest of the capital, Khartoum.
Human Rights Watch analyzed four other cases where members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces filmed themselves torturing and mistreating detainees, including flogging, beating, and forcing detainees to walk on their knees on unpaved roads. Their analysis indicates that these incidents occurred in Khartoum, Gezira, North, and West Kordofan.
Three videos, all filmed in 2024, show Sudanese Armed Forces members abusing the bodies of Rapid Support Forces members or civilians, including one video in which they wave two severed heads.
Since the conflict erupted in Khartoum on April 15, 2023, the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has not stopped or addressed these violations. In July 2023, authorities affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces announced national investigations into Rapid Support Forces abuses, led by the Attorney General, but did not mention investigating crimes committed by their forces.
In a letter dated July 23, 2024, in response to a previous Human Rights Watch report, the Rapid Support Forces provided a code of conduct that vaguely prohibits mistreatment of detainees and claimed to have established a committee to investigate abuses and prosecute those responsible. However, they have provided no public evidence of these investigations or prosecutions.
On August 19, Human Rights Watch emailed a detailed summary of its findings along with specific questions to Lieutenant Colonel Al-Fateh Al-Qurashi, spokesperson for the Rapid Support Forces, and Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah, military spokesperson for the Armed Forces. Neither has responded.
