Social media circulated dozens of videos documenting the violations occurring in Gezira state and the defiance among the residents of Kanabi, following the army’s entry into the area after the withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The videos showed threats and incitement campaigns against citizens, as well as arrests, interrogations and ill-treatment of those accused of cooperating with the RSF, and videos documenting the crimes committed, such as beatings, death threats and killings, amid cheers and takbirs for the army personnel and their allies from the Islamic Movement militias

Vivid testimonies:

Merchant “M” told Rhino that there is widespread fear among citizens, whether for themselves or their children, after the emergence of extremist armed groups that carry out executions in the streets for mere suspicion of cooperation with the RSF, he said: “A young man was executed after being assaulted because his sister married a ‘supporter’.”

A Kanabi citizen told Rhino that she and her family were lucky to have left the area months ago due to the nature of her husband’s work: But what we saw and heard of the assassinations and the way our people were executed was unbearable, they slaughtered our children and described them in a brutal way, and now they have no protection from the army leadership, which left us to face the extremists’ weapons.

Videos and photos circulated after the army entered Wad Madani showed the “Daesh” method of killing civilians by members of the army and its allies. Several human rights organizations documented a group of people wearing uniforms bearing the logo of the “Al-Baraa” battalion, putting a rope over the mouth of a young man in the manner of “donkeys,” then throwing him into the Nile, while firing a barrage of bullets at him.

The testimonies and witness statements are endless, but the most notable was when a young man told Rhino: “Many young people don’t go out of their homes to avoid meeting the death squads.” He revealed that he left his family home for fear of being falsely reported by anyone who has a personal issue with him. He added: “Some have falsely reported young men and women to take revenge on them, especially since the executions are carried out quickly and at the place of arrest of the accused, who is often liquidated in cold blood.

Sufyan revealed that the terror has reached such an extent that citizens are often forced to zoom and cheer when executions take place in front of them, so as not to be categorized as “supporters” or collaborators. “The army and its militias arrest, interrogate and execute in less than 10 minutes, something that the whole world has witnessed,” he said. He added: “These groups are uncontrolled and uncontrollable, and the liquidations they carry out may make citizens prefer to flee before the army enters other areas.”

Sufyan emphasized that what is happening is an attempt to force certain social components to migrate and leave the areas where they are being targeted in order to support the project of dividing Sudan after the army and its allies were unable to resolve the RSF. Therefore, he seeks to remove the RSF, Darfur and members of the Darfurian social components from the spot that is supposed to represent a post-secession Sudan.

Reactions:

The scenes and tragedies of what happened in Kimbo Five reinforced the accusations against the army and its allied militias. Some supporters of the army sought to spread information that Abu Aqla Kikel and his forces known as “Sudan Shield” were the ones who burned Kimbo, killed 8 people, including two children, and kidnapped a man and 13 women, which was widely rejected by citizens and activists, because Kikel works under the command of the army, so the responsibility lies with the army command.

The Kanabi Central Committee described the grave violations and criminal practices against the residents of Kanabi and East Umm al-Qura as amounting to genocide, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, and threatening the security and safety of Sudanese society. It considered that this crime represents a real test for the government, in terms of its commitment to protect its citizens and ensure justice. The Kanabi Central Committee expressed its hope that its statement will be met with serious and quick action to end the suffering of our people, because history will judge everyone by what they have done in times of adversity.

While the political components of the Coordination of Civil Forces (Taqaddam) condemned what happened, the Darfur Bar Association condemned the serious violations that took place in Wad Madani after it was recaptured by the army and warned of the consequences of the phenomenon of taking the law into one’s own hands. It warned that the continuation of such practices and violations will undermine the state, and the phenomenon of continuous chaos will become the prevailing state of the country and will lead it to regional and tribal divisions. She called on civilians to exercise restraint, not to be drawn into hate speech, and to retain the right to justice and fairness, and to prosecute and deter perpetrators of crimes, in accordance with the rules of Sharia and law.

For its part, the RSF quickly issued a statement condemning in the strongest terms the violations and serious racial genocide crimes committed by Burhan’s militias and the brigades of terrorism and extremism, through brutal campaigns of killing, abuse and torture, targeting innocent “Kanabi citizens,” on top of which was the massacre of “Kambo Taiba” east of Umm al-Qura locality in the state of Gezira, which witnessed systematic crimes that killed hundreds since the army and its militias entered Wad Madani last Saturday.

The statement warned against the ongoing incitement campaigns by the mouthpieces of the old regime and war mongers against the Kanabi people in central Sudan and attempts to exploit the current events to liquidate their existence and displace them to serve the agendas of dividing the country.