Dozens of residents were killed and injured in heavy airstrikes that continued for the fifth consecutive day, targeting neighborhoods in the southern part of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and several areas in Darfur in the western part of the country. Reports indicate that 33 young men were executed in the Halfaya area of Khartoum North, which has been under the control of “Al-Bara Battalion,” closely linked to ISIS and accused of committing large-scale massacres during the ongoing war of more than 17 months.
Intensive Bombardment
As the fighting intensified in Khartoum and Al-Fashir, the capital of the Darfur region, the military’s air force ramped up its aerial attacks on numerous areas and residential neighborhoods, resulting in approximately 45 civilian deaths over the past five days and hundreds of injuries amid widespread destruction of civilian properties and infrastructure.
Legal expert and lawyer Moaz Hadra considers these indiscriminate attacks against civilians to constitute war crimes under international law. Speaking to Sky News Arabia, Hadra stated, “International humanitarian law absolutely prohibits targeting civilians and civilian objects, explicitly mentioned in Article 51 of the Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and in Articles 11, 12, and 13 of the Code of Humanitarian Law issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Therefore, the random attacks by the military aviation on civilians and civilian objects are considered complete war crimes.”
Hadra also noted that the “International Fact-Finding Committee formed by the UN Human Rights Council accused both sides of the war in its latest report of committing serious humanitarian violations.”
New Massacre
Eyewitnesses confirmed that armed groups belonging to the “Al-Bara Battalion,” fighting alongside the army, executed about 33 young activists from the resistance committees and volunteer groups providing aid to the stranded on Monday, after accusing them of cooperating with the Rapid Support Forces.
Sudanese expressed profound shock at the developments of the current war, voicing concerns over the increasing behavior of extremist groups among army fighters.
The new incident is part of a series of violations committed against civilians in several areas, causing significant local and international outrage, amid reports linking the Al-Bara Battalions to foreign terrorist groups. The Al-Bara Battalion is one of the most prepared, trained, and armed Brotherhood battalions, which emerged during the South War and consists of youth groups aged between 20 and 35 years, mostly from backgrounds of student organizations that operated under the student security umbrella. Like other extremist battalions, Al-Bara enjoyed many privileges during the Brotherhood’s rule from June 1989 until its overthrow in April 2019.
