The primary partner of “Rapid Support” in its crimes policy

In suspicious international silence, a black page is being written in the history of the international community, where humanity turns into the first and direct victim, and complicity becomes an edifice that cannot be seen, but is felt in the dilapidated signature books, and in the moments of devastation witnessed by Sudanese civilians.

International silence is not a meaningless vacuum, but rather a partner in the crime, accompanying organized and systematic terrorism committed against civilians, by the Rapid Support Militia, and those managing the scene behind the scenes.

From Darfur to Al Jazeera, and from the Blue Nile to Kordofan, Sudanese daily reminisce about images of burning, demolition, killing, and displacement, while justice is absent, and the truth staggers in the corridors of neglect and neglect, or hides behind closed doors by the international community.

The Rapid Support Militia’s formation of a “government” in areas under its control was not just a symbolic declaration of power, but rather a practical structure that legitimizes an illegal economy and undermines judicial processes. This integration of parallel administration and a violent economy fuels organized crime, prolongs violations, and makes any peace or justice path more complex and urgent at the same time.

El Fasher…the siege of death and the economy of violence

Today, El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, represents one of the most prominent embodiments of the disaster that Sudan is going through. The city is subject to a stifling and extended siege by the Rapid Support militia, which prevents humanitarian, food and medical supplies from reaching the besieged civilians, whose number in the greater region is estimated at more than 1.5 million people, including hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have taken refuge there.

Credible reports have indicated that indiscriminate and systematic bombing deep into the city has led to an increase in the number of civilian casualties.

In flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, strikes were directed at hospitals and health facilities in El Fasher and other cities in Darfur and Kordofan, which led to the majority of these facilities being out of service or completely destroyed, and with them the wounded and sick becoming dead. They cannot find a doctor, medicine, or even a place to receive treatment.

This siege and destruction did not occur in isolation from a larger context: the number of internally displaced people in Sudan as of September 2025 exceeded ten million people, an unprecedented number that represents about 20% of the total population.

It is also estimated that more than 25,000 civilians have been killed since April 2023, including at least 8,000 in contexts indicating direct ethnic targeting, and the percentage of children among civilian casualties exceeded 40%.

All of this represents an ugly equation: civilians are a targeted option, and the militia insists on siege and artillery targeting.

What might be called the economy of violence is not new to Darfur and parts of Kordofan, but rather is a continuation of older patterns of conflict over resources and tribes.

The fundamental difference today is that a faction that was considered part of the state rebelled against it, using ethnic rhetoric as a mobilization tool and a cover for a broader economic war, aimed at controlling vital resources, such as gold mines, fertile agricultural lands, and pastures in Darfur. Here, race becomes not just a social description, but an excuse for plunder and displacement.

This dynamic is linked to changes in the power structure: with the rise of the Rapid Support, and its transformation from a “Janjaweed” militia into a semi-regular force, the equations of the conflict changed. According to a reliable news report, what is happening in West Darfur (for example in the city of El Geneina) “is a continuation of an ethnic cleansing campaign, in which the Rapid Support militia occupies the lands of its residents, whom it oppresses, abuses, and even buries alive.”

Legal description of militia crimes

In addition to the war crimes of ethnic targeting and the destruction of civilian facilities, disturbing reports have emerged about the use of internationally banned chemical weapons by the Rapid Support Militia on some fighting fronts. This is a dangerous escalation that amounts to crimes against humanity, and blatantly violates international law.

One of the most horrific crimes that shook the human conscience, and revealed the ethnic nature of the war in Sudan, is what happened in the city of El Geneina in June 2023, when the governor of West Darfur state, Khamis Abkar, was brutally assassinated after he was kidnapped by elements affiliated with the Rapid Support militia and its allies.

Hours after he appeared on a satellite television broadcast calling on the international community to intervene to stop the massacres against civilians of the Masalit ethnicity, clips were broadcast showing his killing and the mutilation of the perpetrators with his body in a scene that sums up the terrorist nature of this militia.

This crime was a dangerous turning point, as it was not only a political liquidation, but rather a message of systematic racist terrorism targeting a specific ethnic group, and confirming that the struggle is not only about power, but about identity and the right to exist itself. The United Nations and human rights organizations have condemned it as a “racially motivated act” that may amount to a crime against humanity, but investigations have not led to results, and no party has been held accountable to date.

This incident represents an intense example of what might be called the “policy of protected escape.” The act is committed in front of the world, and its images are broadcast publicly, without any international conscience or judicial system being moved. Thus, the crime turns from an exceptional event into a daily practice, and international silence becomes an additional cover for the normalization of brutality.

The latest addition to this bloody criminal record is what was announced regarding the assassination of the leader of the “Al Majenun” tribe. [قبيلة عربية في السودان]During a community meeting in North Kordofan state.

According to Sudanese media reports, the tribe’s head, Suleiman Jaber Jumah Sahl, was killed on Friday, October 17, in a drone strike launched by the Rapid Support militia during a meeting called by the tribe’s leader in the Al-Mazroub area, which is besieged by the rebel militia.

The Transitional Sovereignty Council mourned the assassinated Nazir, describing him as a “loyal national figure,” accusing the Rapid Support Militia of planning a “treacherous attack” targeting a civil meeting.

This incident, in addition to the targeting of tribal leaders and regional notables, means that they are direct targets if they demand an end to violations in their areas. It is certain that this assassination will not be forgotten, and will create a state of terror within local communities, and reinforce the feeling that any civil or civil activity is a threat to the Rapid Support militia.

Civil society…a ray of hope in a dark night

Despite all this devastation, the voice of hope continues to echo through volunteer emergency rooms and local civic initiatives that represent the last line of defense for civilians.

These civilian networks continue to document crimes, deliver relief, and attempt to mend the torn social fabric. In the absence of relevant United Nations organizations, it represents the only pillar of inclusive citizenship, and must be taken into account in any peace or transitional justice process.

In the absence of these initiatives, the state of rift escalates, as one survey indicated that 68% of the population in conflict areas have begun to doubt the common national identity. However, these initiatives face great difficulties: the movements and activities of journalists and human rights defenders are affected by the war situation and security precautions, especially in areas under militia control, fear of retaliation, and lack of legal protection. It operates in a hostile environment, and the courage to document and confront pays a heavy price.

Militia government…perpetuating organized crime

In a dangerous development that adds complexity to the country’s crisis, the Rapid Support militia, along with political elites who were part of the coalition that represented a political incubator for the government of former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, announced the formation of a parallel government in the areas it controls, a step that has not yet gained them any kind of recognition, but it gives them the ability to control resources and impose their own “laws.”

This parallel administration imposes de facto taxation through checkpoints, “loots” gold, and seizes resources marketed outside official channels, creating a partnership between the militia and the illegal economy.

The existence of these illegal structures makes the areas of control “small cantons” that operate outside the authority of the law, which directly contributes to transforming individual violations into an organized crime industry. Smuggling and mediation networks benefit from the absence of the rule of law. To expand its operations from gold and fuel smuggling, to trafficking and extortion networks, the resulting financial resources are reinvested in purchasing weapons, financing further repressive operations.

This link between parallel administration and the war economy is one of the drivers of the continuation of the conflict, as analyzes by economic research and policy centers show. The formation of an illegal parallel administration certainly undermines investigation and prosecution mechanisms in several practical ways:

• FirstlyPreventing or restricting the access of United Nations investigators and human rights bodies to websites.
• secondlyReplacing local courts or committees that lack judicial independence.
• ThirdAbstaining from victims’ testimonies through direct threats or buying witnesses’ loyalties.
• FourthConverting crime records and documents into politicized archives that do not reach international justice institutions.

As a result of these mechanisms, the culture of impunity grows and weakens the chances of any credible investigation or effective trial, turning accountability from a possibility into a distant dream.

What is required from the international community?

For international treatment to be real and responsible, it requires a comprehensive vision that starts from:

• Serious pressure to lift the Rapid Support Militia’s siege of the fascistst immediately, and secure effective humanitarian corridors to enable the arrival of aid and the citizens who need it.
• Urgent international investigation In reports of the use of chemical weapons and the targeting of hospitals, with the creation of an independent monitoring mechanism in coordination with the legitimate authority represented by the Sudanese army.
• Transitional justice: Launching a justice process in which victims and local communities participate, while ensuring their right to truth and justice, and launching a reparation process (compensations, rebuilding infrastructure, rehabilitating the displaced).
• International accountabilityThe international community must impose targeted sanctions on militia leaders and those who support them, and prove that complicity or silence is not an option without a price.
• Support civil society Enabling him to work freely, while protecting his rights to documentation and advocacy, and providing protection for his leaders from retaliation.
• Comprehensive peace: Peace cannot be real unless addressing the roots of the conflict includes identity, land, resources, and local governance and not just a ceasefire.

The war in Sudan today is no longer just to eliminate the rebellion of the Rapid Support Militia, but it has become a war to preserve the idea of ​​the homeland itself. Civilians pay the highest price, and justice remains elusive. There will be no real peace unless the voice of the victims is brought to the forefront, and unless accountability becomes a condition that cannot be bypassed in any future political process.

To remain silent about crimes today is to participate in their creation tomorrow, and this is the truth that journalists must write clearly, and academics and reformers must mention tirelessly. In the absence of justice, there is no peace; In the absence of memory, there is no future.

Perhaps the assassination of the leader of the Majinun tribe, as he was about to hold a meeting with the notables of his tribe, reminds us not that the enemies have changed, but rather that their method of targeting everything related to hope or civil organization has become more abstract and more targeting identity. Will the international community mobilize its will, or will silence remain an accomplice to the crime?