Sudan: War Crimes in South Kordofan

“The Rapid Support Forces’ abuse of civilians in South Kordofan is emblematic of continuing atrocities across Sudan,” said Jean-Baptiste Gallopin, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch. “These new findings underscore the urgent need for the deployment of a mission to protect civilians in Sudan.”For 16 days in October, Human Rights Watch researchers visited areas of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), a primarily ethnic Nuba armed group that has controlled parts of the state for decades. Researchers visited sites hosting tens of thousands of mostly Nuba displaced people who had fled areas controlled by the parties fighting for control of the country – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF – in South Kordofan and elsewhere in Sudan.Researchers interviewed 70 displaced people, 40 of them survivors of RSF attacks on Habila, Fayu, and neighboring villages, and analyzed satellite imagery of the area from December 2023 to October 2024. Researchers also spoke with 24 other people, including aid workers, local officials, and other people with knowledge of the area.Human Rights Watch documented the killings of 52 unarmed people in these attacks, including 11 women and 1 child, based on interviews with witnesses. The RSF killed people both execution-style in homes and by shooting them on the streets. The actual figures may be significantly higher, given that most people fled in various directions after the attacks.