A wide-ranging investigative report has uncovered shocking crimes committed by SAF and allied militias in Sudan’s Gezira state, revealing a pattern of violence that includes extrajudicial killings, mass executions and the systematic disposal of bodies.
The joint investigation, published on Tuesday by international media in collaboration with an investigative journalism organisation, draws on video evidence, survivor testimonies and satellite imagery to document atrocities that had largely escaped international scrutiny.
While much of the global coverage of Sudan’s war has focused on alleged abuses by the Rapid Support Forces, the investigation highlights grave violations carried out by SAF, led by Abdel Fattah al Burhan, alongside Islamist factions and allied militias operating under its protection.
Organised campaign targeting non Arab communities
The investigation concludes that SAF and its allied militias carried out a racially motivated campaign of violence targeting non Arab communities, particularly the kanabi, agricultural labour settlements whose residents are predominantly Black Sudanese, many originating from Nuba areas and western and southern Sudan.
Evidence collected by media organisations shows a repeated pattern of unlawful killings, field executions and the organised disposal of bodies across dozens of villages in Gezira state.
Graphic evidence, bodies in irrigation canals and mass graves
Shocking videos documented bodies dumped into irrigation canals, some stripped of clothing, others with hands bound. Additional images show victims buried in mass graves, while entire farming communities were burned to the ground.
According to consistent survivor accounts, anyone suspected of belonging to non Arab groups was killed immediately, without investigation or trial.
Coordination from senior levels
Sources with direct knowledge of the events, including current security officials, told media that the violence was not the result of isolated abuses, but rather coordinated operations directed from senior levels within the state.
The sources indicated that elements of Sudan’s General Intelligence Service were involved in organising attacks in Gezira, and that Abdel Fattah al Burhan was informed of details surrounding the killings.
Wad Madani, recapture followed by massacres
In January 2025, SAF advanced to retake the city of Wad Madani from the Rapid Support Forces. As troops approached, a wave of atrocities began to emerge.
Verified footage showed SAF forces stopping in the village of Kreibi, detaining civilian youths, assaulting them and accusing them of affiliation with the Rapid Support Forces.
Police Bridge, from battlefield to execution site
At a junction known as Police Bridge, media reconstructed events using multiple videos filmed over several days.
Initial footage showed clashes and an ambush targeting fleeing Rapid Support Forces fighters. Subsequent scenes were far more disturbing, with bodies scattered across the road, some wearing Rapid Support Forces uniforms, others in civilian clothing.
One wounded, unarmed man was seen lying on the ground surrounded by soldiers, before being shot seconds later.
Cold blooded execution of civilians
The following day, after SAF had consolidated control of the area, a nearby courtyard was turned into the site of another massacre.
At least 50 bodies of young men were found, all civilians and unarmed, some lined up against a wall with clear gunshot wounds to the head.
One fighter claimed the victims were “foreigners”, a justification that underscored the racial dimension of the violence. The execution of unarmed civilians or detainees constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law.
Intelligence whistleblowers and satellite confirmation
The investigation identified a whistleblower from senior ranks within Sudan’s General Intelligence Service, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He confirmed that those killed at Police Bridge were buried in mass graves, civilians alongside Rapid Support Forces fighters.
Satellite images analysed by media in cooperation with a public health and humanitarian research laboratory at Yale University supported this account, revealing five fresh patches of disturbed soil near the bridge, with indicators consistent with buried bodies.
Dumping bodies in irrigation canals
The disposal of victims was not limited to mass burials.
A second intelligence source said some individuals accused of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces were executed and their bodies thrown into irrigation canals.
In the village of Beika, around four miles away, videos documented at least eight bodies trapped within the same canal system just one week after SAF retook Wad Madani.
Pattern across dozens of villages
The investigation concluded that what occurred along the Wad Madani corridor was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader campaign affecting at least 39 villages across Gezira state.
The violence disproportionately targeted kanabi communities, often described by SAF aligned militias using explicitly racist language, reflecting direct incitement.
Survivor testimonies, “they wanted to kill everyone”
One survivor told media, “They do not want any Black people here. They said they wanted to kill everyone and leave no one alive.”
He added that victims were shot in the chest near the heart or in the back, and that irrigation canals would “bring one or two bodies every few days”.
UN assessment, ethnic cleansing
A member of a UN fact finding mission described the military campaign in Gezira as “targeted destruction based on ethnicity”, stating that some cases amount to ethnic cleansing, a war crime under international law.
No accountability
In January, SAF condemned what it described as “individual violations” and announced an investigation.
To date, no clear findings have been published and no one has been held accountable, leaving justice elusive for victims in Gezira state.
Rahab al Mubarak, a member of the executive office of Emergency Lawyers, said many of the crimes committed by SAF allied militias in Gezira were racially and politically motivated and carried out with the knowledge of SAF leadership.
She noted that residents of the kanabi, largely agricultural workers from Darfur, were subjected to grave abuses when SAF retook control of the state, targeted explicitly on racial grounds.
Al Mubarak also accused the Sudan Shield Forces, led by Abu Aqla Keikel and allied with SAF, of carrying out killings and abuses against kanabi residents under the pretext that they supported the Rapid Support Forces.
She added that Barraa ibn Malik Islamist militias also carried out widespread violations against civilians in Gezira, settling political scores by accusing residents of collaboration during the period of Rapid Support Forces control.
According to al Mubarak, SAF itself acknowledged the occurrence of crimes in Gezira, yet blocked access for international fact finding missions, particularly after reports emerged alleging the use of chemical weapons in the state.
