A recent investigation by international media has revealed new evidence indicating the systematic targeting of civilians by SAF in Sudan’s Al Jazira State, allegedly driven by ethnic motives.
According to the findings, SAF commander Abdel Fattah al Burhan is accused of concealing alleged crimes committed by his forces, while redirecting accusations of war crimes toward the Rapid Support Forces. The investigation, conducted in cooperation with independent research organisations, suggests that SAF exploited long-standing ethnic divisions in Al Jazira to forcibly displace non-Arab communities from their land.
In early 2025, SAF regained control of the central city of Wad Madani in Al Jazira State, announcing what it described as a campaign to cleanse the city and surrounding areas of “rebel pockets.” However, the investigation concludes that SAF, alongside allied Islamist-backed militias, including the Sudan Shield Forces, used the operation as a pretext to carry out a widespread campaign targeting non-Arab civilians across the state.
The attacks reportedly began in October 2024, in the lead-up to the operation to retake Wad Madani, and continued for several months after SAF reasserted control over the city.
The communities targeted belong largely to the Kanabi, Sudanese agricultural workers who are predominantly non-Arab. Many trace their origins to Darfur and Kordofan, having migrated to Al Jazira in the 1950s as labourers. For decades, these communities have faced systematic marginalisation under Arab-dominated state structures and have been confined to settlements commonly referred to as “campuses.”
The investigation highlights that the same ethnic fault lines that fuelled state-led atrocities in Darfur in the early 2000s continue to shape patterns of violence today. SAF is accused of deliberately exploiting these divisions during its early-2025 campaign, forcibly expelling Kanabi families from their homes and land.
Researchers documented extensive evidence of ethnically motivated violence, including mass killings, the dumping of bodies in irrigation canals, and the use of mass graves.
The findings draw on the analysis of hundreds of videos, satellite imagery, and exclusive testimonies, collectively presenting a stark picture of a coordinated military campaign directed at civilians. The investigation also points to SAF’s reliance on loosely controlled allied militias and what it describes as hurried efforts to conceal evidence of atrocities.
One community leader from Al Jazira State stated that he personally witnessed SAF soldiers dumping three bodies into a canal. He later travelled across the state and observed widespread destruction of Kanabi settlements, including areas that had never been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces.
“What is happening now in Al Jazira,” he said, “is that SAF is seeking to destroy areas where African communities form the majority.”
