HRW: Kekal forces committed war crimes in Al-Jazeera State
Moatinoon
Human Rights Watch said that the Sudan Shield Forces, which recently fought alongside the Sudanese army, committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity after the army regained control of Al-Jazeera State.
According to the organization, at least 26 people - including a child - were killed and others were injured in the attack on the village of Kambo Taiba in Al-Jazeera State in central Sudan.
Human Rights Watch accused the Sudan Shield Forces of targeting civilians and looting their property in an attack on January 10, 2025 in Al-Jazeera State.
The organization based its report on interviews with eight survivors of the attack, analysis of satellite imagery, and photographs and videos shared by survivors that showed the bodies of some of the dead, damage caused by fires caused by the attackers, and the graves of the victims.
Jean-Baptiste Gallopin of Human Rights Watch called on the Sudanese authorities to “urgently investigate all reported abuses and hold accountable those responsible, including the commanders of the Sudan Shield Forces.”
According to the organization’s report, the January 10 attack was part of a bloody escalation in attacks by groups and militias allied with the Sudanese military on communities in Al-Jazirah and other areas retaken by the military from the Rapid Support Forces since January 2025.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers shot men and boys indiscriminately and set fire to buildings in the morning, then attacked the village again in the afternoon as residents buried the victims, moving from house to house in search of men and boys, and resumed the killing, looting, and burning.
Abu Agla Kekal formed the Sudan Shield Forces in 2022, fought alongside the Sudanese military and later defected to the Rapid Support Forces.
In October 2024, Kekal and the Sudan Shield returned to fighting with the Sudanese military, and in response, the RSF carried out a wave of attacks on communities it assumed were loyal to Kikil, committing atrocities, including widespread sexual violence against women and girls.
As the Sudanese military has retaken Al-Jazirah and other parts of Sudan since January, civilians are bearing the brunt of retaliatory violence, this time by groups allied with the military, who accuse them of collaborating with the RSF when the forces controlled the areas, Human Rights Watch said.
The Sudanese military should investigate the attack on Camp Taiba and other abuses by armed groups and affiliated militias, publish the results of its investigations, and take steps to hold all those responsible, including commanders, accountable, the organization said.
The organization urged the Sudanese military to suspend Kekal and other key Sudan Shield commanders pending the results of the investigation.
