Sudan, warring parties execute prisoners and mutilate bodies: brutal war crimes are being committed and must be investigated

NAIROBI – The war in Sudan is constantly bringing horrifying images and news that show a conflict that has already exceeded every imaginable limit of violence. The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and affiliated fighters have summarily executed, tortured and ill-treated people in their custody and mutilated bodies: it was announced today. Human Rights Watch (Hrw). The leaders of both forces should privately and publicly order an immediate cessation of these abuses and conduct effective investigations and cooperate with international investigators, particularly the Independent international mission of ascertaining the facts of the United Nations for Sudan.

They feel immune from punishment. “Forces from Sudan’s warring sides feel so immune to punishment that they have repeatedly filmed themselves executing, torturing and dehumanising detainees and mutilating bodies,” said Mohamed Osman, a Sudanese researcher at Human Rights Watch. “These crimes should be investigated as war crimes and those responsible, including the commanders of these forces, should be held accountable.” The New York-based human rights NGO analyzed 20 videos and 1 photograph of 10 incidents uploaded to social media platforms between August 24, 2023, and July 11, 2024.

Videos and photos of 4 mass executions. Eight videos and one photograph depict four incidents of summary executions, including mass executions, of at least 40 people. Four videos show torture and ill-treatment of a total of 18 detainees, including some who appear to be injured; and nine videos show the mutilation of at least eight bodies. Many of the attackers and victims appear to be wearing military uniforms, suggesting they may be combatants, although some victims are dressed in civilian clothes. In all incidents, detainees appear to be unarmed, posing no threat to their captors, and many are being held.

20 more cases recorded. Human Rights Watch recorded 20 other cases that appear to show similar violations by both sides, but did not investigate these cases. Four cases of executions appear to have been filmed by the perpetrators themselves, 3 by the RSF, including the execution of at least 21 men in El Fula, West Kordofan, in June 2024; the execution of at least 14 men in the aftermath of RSF attacks on Belila airport, 60 kilometers southeast of El Fula, West Kordofan, in October 2023; and the execution of 2 men 12 kilometers south of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. The fourth involved the execution by the SAF of three detainees, possibly minors under the age of 18, in October 2023 in Omdurman, northwest of the capital, Khartoum.

Prisoners forced to walk on their knees. Human Rights Watch analyzed four additional cases in which SAF and RSF personnel filmed themselves torturing and ill-treating detainees, including whipping, beating, and forcing detainees to walk on their knees on dirt roads. HRW’s analysis suggests these incidents occurred in Khartoum, Gezira, and North and West Kordofan states. Three videos, all made during 2024, show SAF soldiers committing outrages against the bodies of apparent RSF fighters or civilians, including one in which they brandish two heads.