The violation of fair trial rights: Analysing summary executions of the alleged RSF collaborators by the Sudanese Armed Forces

Author: Razan Ali
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria

The recapture of Wad Madani, the capital city of Al Jazeera state, by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in January 2025 after 11 months of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control initially sparked celebrations among Sudanese people both domestically and in the diaspora.[1] However, these celebrations were quickly overshadowed by the widespread circulation of videos documenting SAF members conducting summary executions of civilians through methods including throat slitting, bridge throwing, and shooting.[2]

These human rights violations extended beyond Sudanese nationals to include South Sudanese citizens, triggering diplomatic tensions and retaliatory violence against Sudanese refugees in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.[3] Some supporters attempted to justify these killings by claiming the victims were RSF collaborators, despite the fact that the civilian population had been under siege for over a year, making interaction with RSF forces virtually unavoidable for survival.[4]

This article examines the legality of these extrajudicial killings through the lens of three legal frameworks: international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and Sudanese domestic law.

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Victimised twice: Wartime rape in South Sudan is a women’s rights violation

DuniaMekonnenTegegnAuthor: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn
Human rights lawyer, Ethiopia

In December 2013, South Sudan was plunged into a massive scale of violence because of the outbreak of conflict between the Sudan Liberation Army and the Sudan People Liberation Movement. The fight took an ethnic turn as soldiers from the country’s largest groups, the Dinka, and Nuer, divided their loyalties to either President Kiir or his deposed vice, Mr Machar respectively. While some civilians were caught in the cross fire, others were deliberately targeted along ethnic lines. Women are the immediate victims of this conflict because of rampant sexual abuse perpetrated against them.

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