Overview
This report documents a series of indiscriminate air strikes and gunfire aimed at civilians which led to a large number of civilian casualties and severe damage to their property and infrastructure. The actual death toll remains unknown due to the security situation. Moreover, the arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances of activists and civilians by the Military Intelligence and Rapid Support Forces undermine the basic rights of individuals. The report highlights cases of looting and occupation of homes by criminal forces and gangs, which led to further displacement among the affected population. Additionally, the deteriorating conditions of basic and health services, intensified by the scarcity of medical supplies and the lack of medical personnel exacerbated the humanitarian crisis and the deliberate targeting of health facilities aggravated the situation.
Several cities in Khartoum and Darfur are still witnessing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces four months following the start of the war. This report monitors human rights violations which are divided into extrajudicial killings and injuries, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, looting and occupation of homes, as well as the deterioration of health services and basic facilities in war-affected areas.
Extrajudicial Killings and Injuries:
The indiscriminate aerial bombardment of populated areas and shootings of civilians, as well as other violations caused by the warring parties, increased since the start of the war. This resulted in several civilian casualties and extensive destruction of homes and infrastructure. Since the number of deaths is difficult to determine, the exact statistic is still unknown. However, according to the latest reports of the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors Trade Union, the number of civilian casualties is estimated to be around 958 deaths. These forces ignore international humanitarian and human rights laws and their actions are considered a flagrant violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality in war.
On Monday, July 3, 2023, the sixth neighborhood in Umbada, specifically Al-Radamiyah Street, was bombed by the Armed Forces, which led to the death of two children and a man, and the injury of five others.
The aerial bombardment continued on Saturday and Sunday, corresponding to 8 and 9 July, in the 16th and 15th neighborhoods in Umbada, resulting in the death of six people, including five children. On Sunday the aerial bombardment claimed the life of a woman in Al-Bariyah neighborhood. Eyewitnesses attributed the ongoing airstrikes to the presence of the Rapid Support Forces in the area.
On July 8, 2023, in the Dar Al-Salam district of Umbada, block 22, several civilians were killed by the bombing. The exact number of victims has not been determined yet. In the Arkaweet area which is mainly controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, a total of 14 civilians were killed and 21 others were injured as a result of shelling, anti-aircraft fire and stray bullets.
Arbitrary Arrests and Enforced Disappearances:
The parties to the conflict continue to arrest activists and members of emergency rooms and resistance committees. The Military Intelligence and the Rapid Support Forces both arrest civilians based on their claim of cooperation with the other side. Among the recent cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, Military Intelligence arrested three members of the Bahri Resistance Committees on May 14 and they are still being held without grounds, legal procedures and information about their current conditions. In addition, cases of disappearance of civilians continued, and it was later revealed that they were being held by the Rapid Support Forces. 7 other civilians were arrested by the Rapid Support Forces in Arkaweet.
Looting and Occupying Homes:
Several war-affected areas witnessed the occupation and looting of several homes by the Rapid Support Forces and gangs, where videos and photos documenting these violations circulated on social media platforms.
In the Mansoura neighborhood of Umbada, Omdurman, the Rapid Support Forces occupied citizens’ homes by force, an eyewitness reported, “The Rapid Support Forces killed a citizen in the Mansoura neighborhood on July 10, in addition to killing three citizens in front of their homes on July 13 in the same neighborhood.” This includes looting of belongings and money, “The Rapid Support Forces also terrorize citizens and break into their homes with the aim of stealing cars, money, gold, and even television screens, which led to the displacement of many families in the area,” the witness continued.
The Rapid Support Forces also attacked citizens’ homes in Wad Al-Bashir on July 6 for the purpose of robbery, but the residents of the neighborhood confronted them and prevented them from entering the homes after an exchange of fire. However, they returned on the 9th and 10th of July and broke into houses and stole cars from the houses near Wad Al-Bashir Bridge according to an eyewitness.
Another witness added, “In the area of blocks 16 and 17, adjacent to the Mohandessin neighborhood, the Rapid Support Forces occupied citizens’ homes and looted all their property, and the Rapid Support Forces tried to kidnap two women from block 17.”
A witness from the Arkaweet area mentioned the expansion of the occupation operations in the area, “The occupation may have reached half of the block or more, such as Square 68 in the Rotana neighborhood, for example, and many governmental, public and private headquarters in various squares of Arkaweet were stormed and occupied by the Rapid Support Forces.”
Health Services
The health situation has deteriorated significantly since the start of the war, as 59 hospitals have gone out of work, according to the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors Trade Union. Operational hospitals lack medical supplies and suffer from a shortage of medical personnel.
An eyewitness mentioned that the Umbada region faces a challenge in the provision and access to health services. There are only three hospitals in the area which are Qatr Al-Nada Hospital in the locality, Al-Rakha Hospital in the locality, and the Umbada Hospital. “These hospitals provide services intermittently due to the scarcity of medical supplies and the lack of medical staff.” It is also difficult to reach these hospitals due to the heavy concentration of forces in the main and secondary streets and inside the neighborhoods. “Because of the continuous clashes citizens are being shot at when they try to take the wounded to Al-Naw Hospital,” the witness added.
Health facilities are subject to continuous attacks, as the Allia Specialist Hospital in Omdurman was bombed on July 16, where the renal department, intensive care unit, and operating rooms were damaged. The Military Hospital was also bombed on July 15, killing five patients and injuring more than 20 people, according to the Doctors Union.
On the 30th of June, the Rapid Support Forces attacked Al-Shuhada Hospital in Al-Doroshab, Bahri, where the laboratory specialist Musab Abdullah Ibrahim was killed, and they beat the medical staff and patients, and damaged the hospital, which led to it being out of service.