Sudan Defenders October Newsletter
Executive Summary
Greetings from Sudan Defenders!
Sudan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing conflict between warring factions. Civilians, especially in areas like Tambul in Gezira state, and Rufaa and Seriha in Al-Jazirah state, have been forced to flee their homes as a result of bombings and attacks. Reports of widespread human rights abuses, including the abduction and rape of women and children, as well as citizens being held for ransom, are emerging. The conflict has also led to the destruction of homes and crops, with tens of thousands displaced in search of safety.
In North Darfur, the violence has escalated, with civilian areas, such as Al Kuma locality and the Omdurman market in Mellit, being bombed. These attacks are flagrant human rights violations. The shelling of the Abu Shouk camp has also resulted in numerous casualties. The situation is becoming increasingly dire, with widespread destruction and loss of life.
In light of this, SudanDefenders convened a meeting to discuss the urgent need to protect civilians, including the call for a no-fly zone, which UN agencies could help enforce. A more comprehensive strategy will be developed in an upcoming meeting with the executive committee and coalition members to launch a campaign aimed at addressing these urgent issues.
Meanwhile, HRDs who remain in Sudan are facing extreme hardships. They lack food, cannot access their banking accounts, and are deprived of basic necessities. The country is in turmoil, with no internet connectivity and severe restrictions on freedom of movement. HRDs are also at risk of detention, arbitrary arrest, and targeted killings, particularly in Bahri and Khartoum. Tragically, some HRDs who have been distributing aid to vulnerable communities have been killed by warring factions. Those with children are struggling to provide basic education for their families due to a lack of financial resources, as they can no longer continue their monitoring and advocacy work. In response to these dire circumstances, SudanDefenders, with the support of DefendDefenders, remains committed to supporting HRDs through direct assistance, technical support, and capacity building.
In our latest issue, we highlight the story of Salih Mahmoud Osman, a renowned human rights defender from Sudan. Despite the ongoing violence and attacks from both the state and the armed factions, Salih remains dedicated to protecting human rights. His story serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience and courage of those fighting for justice in Sudan’s most challenging conditions.
I invite you to read our October Newsletter.
Adam Musa Obama Executive Director
Updates on Sudan
Highlights with infographics
According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High
Commissioner, 97% of Sudan’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), along with civilians who remain in their homes, are facing severe levels of hunger.
According to a joint donor statement on Humanitarian Access in Sudan by 11 donors, in Darfur, only a fraction of the aid needed to feed 7 million acutely food insecure people has been allowed in since August 2024.
According to the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, an estimated 11,018,231 IDPs have been displaced to 9,470 locations in 184 localities across all 18 states in Sudan as of October 2024.
Humanitarian Impact
A devastating famine in the Nuba Mountains region of Sudan has claimed the lives of at least 646 people, with more than 52,000 suffering from malnutrition.
On 7 and 8 October 2024, the Abu Shouk IDP camp faced artillery bombing which resulted in the closure of the Abu Shouk market by the Chamber of Commerce and the Market Security Committee. 15 civilians lost their lives while 21 others sustained injuries.
On 15 October 2024, the health ministry reported that Sudan’s cholera outbreak had claimed 699 lives while cases of dengue fever had surged to over 2,000 with nine fatalities.
On 16 October 2024, an aerial bombardment on Kamerab village, located west of Al-Dinder in Sennar State, resulted in the death of entire families and the injury of numerous civilians. The attack resulted in the deaths of 15 individuals, including children and women, while five others sustained varying degrees of injury.
On 21 October 2024, the Kulbus locality in West Darfur, situated 80 kilometres north of El Geneina, and hosts more than 200,000 people, including those displaced from El Geneina, Sirba, and Umm Suruj suffered a brutal attack This attack resulted in civilian casualties, including deaths and injuries, along with widespread destruction and displacement.
At least 124 civilians have been killed, dozens more injured and about 119,400 people displaced from parts of Aj Jazirah State after a wave of armed violence and attacks in the area that began on 20 October 2024.
On 22 October 2024, warring parties shelled the Abu Shouk camp, which destroyed the water station, which the camp heavily relied on. A child-safe space established by Save the Children and a Starlink communications centre were also destroyed.
On 24 October 2024, The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) issued an article that condemned the continued use of arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention of Sudanese citizens by the security bodies amidst the ongoing conflict.
On 24 October, at least 49 people were killed in retaliatory attacks by RSF that are believed to be due to the defection of a prominent RSF commander, Abu Aqla Kikal, who joined the Sudanese army in Al Jazirah, Central Sudan.
At least three localities along the Chad-Sudan border—Sirba, Jebel Moon, and Kulbus- witnessed fighting within the month of October after Joint Force reinforcements arrived in the area and began operating against the RSF.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Sabreen IDP camp in East
Darfur State (El Daein) are facing dire conditions, with an acute shortage of food and essential aid. Due to a critical lack of food supplies, the IDPs rely on local cucumber and animal fodder as daily meals. The camp, which hosts approximately 5,395 IDPs who fled conflict zones such as El Fasher,
Nyala, Khartoum, and Babanoosa, lacks basic life necessities, including shelter and healthcare.
Human Rights Violations
On 10 October 2024, Four civilians were arrested in the Neem IDP camp in East Darfur, specifically in the Shaq Hassan area, approximately 35 kilometers north of Al-Daein. The arrests were made under the pretext of espionage with the joint forces. The four arrested civilians worked in their fields in an agricultural area, and no evidence was provided linking them to any espionage or military activities.
17 villages in Dar Zaghawa of North Darfur State were burnt down. These border areas have historically been inhabited by mostly non-Arab tribes,
such as Gimr, Dajo, Tama, Masalit, and Zaghawa. These communities are predominantly Zaghawa.
Relief Efforts
On 18 October 2024, the UK, USAID, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Canada and the European
Commissioner for Crisis Management issued a joint statement on humanitarian access in Sudan, calling on the warring parties to stop blocking aid from reaching those in need. The statement noted that in Darfur, only a fraction of the aid needed to feed 7 million acutely food- insecure people has been allowed in since August due to bureaucratic impediments by both the Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission and the Sudan Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations continue to impede the delivery of assistance at the necessary scale.
Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), insisted on the presence of Sudanese customs police, standards officials, and intelligence agents, backed by international protection forces, on both sides of the border. He also demanded X-ray scanners to verify cargo in order to extend the opening of the Adré border crossing with Chad for humanitarian aid deliveries into Sudan.
Advocacy and Policy
On 9 October 2024, The Human Rights Council resolved that the Sudan Fact-Finding mission will provide the Council with an oral update on its work at its fifty-ninth session and a comprehensive report at its sixtieth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue and to submit the report to the General Assembly at its eightieth session in October 2025.
On 23 October 2024, the Sudan UN Fact-Finding Mission issued a report documenting the large-scale sexual violence and other human rights
violations by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, who have been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces in the country’s ongoing conflict. The report stated that the RSF are responsible for committing sexual violence on a large scale in areas under their control, including gang rapes and abducting and detaining victims in conditions that amount to sexual slavery.
On 24 October 2024, Clementine Nkweta, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, issued a statement reiterating that the UN will continue to call on the parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian Law and call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
On 30 October 2024, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, raised grave concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state, citing alarming reports of widespread sexual violence and attacks on healthcare facilities. He mentioned that local authorities reported that over 27 women and girls aged between 6 and 60 had been subjected to rape and sexual violence in recent days. He added that at least six health facilities had been attacked, resulting in the deaths of two healthcare workers.
Updates on Support provided to HRDs by DefendDefenders and SudanDefenders/ Engagements
Actions by SudanDefenders
World Day against the Death Penalty (10 October 2024)
SudanDefenders secretariat staff and three HRDs attended the commemoration of the World Day against the Death Penalty organized by the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, which was themed “Security and the Death Penalty. The event brought to light the inhumane nature of the death penalty, its ineffectiveness in crime prevention, and how it goes against the global trend of human rights protection.
Through the Eyes of Salih Mahmoud Osman
Salih Mahmoud Osman is a lawyer and human rights activist known for having provided free legal representation to hundreds of victims of ethnic violence in Sudan for more than two decades and was
among the founding members of the Darfur Bar Association. He is from the Jebel Mara area in central Darfur, Western Sudan. He has
been widely honoured for his work on human rights issues in Sudan. He received the Human Rights Watch award in 2005 and the International Human Rights Award from the American Bar Association in 2006. He was included in European Voices 50 most influential persons in Europe in 2007. Also, in 2007, the European Parliament
voted unanimously to award him the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
In 2005, he was appointed as a Member of Parliament to the National Assembly of Sudan, where he worked to promote legal reform and
establish the rule of law.
The ongoing conflict and escalating violence in Sudan forced him and his family to evacuate, leaving behind his home and his law firm. The conflict affected the provision of legal services to affected parties as most of the members of Darfur Bar Association were advised to evacuate from Darfur and Sudan due to the constant attacks by the warring parties where some members were killed.
“The conflict affected my ability to help those in need as I too had to seek refuge in Uganda, leaving behind my resources, and I am unable to practice law in Uganda and offer protection to my fellow displaced Sudanese”, he shared.
In October 2024, Salih attended the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (African Commission) as part of the delegation from DefendDefenders and African Defenders in Banjul, Gambia. He highlighted that all the panels were cognisant of the dire situation in Sudan and the need for the conflict to end.
“The sessions were enlightening as I interacted with people from all over Africa, especially people from Northern Africa who shared the experience of Sudanese who are in exile in those countries,” he noted. “This was an opportunity to get insight into the situation in the different African countries and discuss how the human rights defenders could work together to deal with their challenges”.
Having lived in Uganda for the past year, Salih feels deeply distraught by the widescale displacement of individuals as well as the sexual violence due to the conflict. Access to food, healthcare, and protection from the warring parties is heavily impacted. The conflict has also put Sudanese in a complicated situation as the attacks are being made on the cities which were previously used as a point of refuge, leaving them lost as to where to go for safety.
Salih emphasised the urgent need for regional, national, and international actors to work together to stop the conflict. He also called for protection of the bodies delivering aid, food, and medication to Sudan, as they are either being prevented from entering Sudan or detained by the warring parties.
He highlighted the need to replace the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan that ceased operations in Sudan in February 2024 leaving a gap in protection of civilians. He called for the United Nations Security Council and the African Commission to work together to find a solution to the conflict instead of waiting for the two warring parties to work together.
Salih remains hopeful that, despite their challenges, the work of the United Nations, UN special rapporteur, the African Union, and other stakeholders has the potential to resolve the conflict and lead to stability and development in Sudan.