Target lists reported to be circulating with activists, human rights and medical workers’ names on them

All parties must stop attacking civilians and civilian areas

‘Leadership of both sides must immediately and publicly order their troops and allies not to commit reprisals, and to allow safe passage for civilians to leave’ - Tigere Chagutah

Amnesty International has received reports of lists of potential targets indicating that civilian activists, human rights defenders, medical workers and humanitarian workers are at imminent risk of deadly reprisals as the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces escalate their fighting in Khartoum.

A Sudanese Armed Forces offensive has pushed the Rapid Support Forces out of some parts of Khartoum, Khartoum Bahri and Omdurman - the three cities where most people in Sudan’s Khartoum state live.

Residents of Khartoum state fear retaliation following mass reprisals in the Gezira state capital Wad Madani by the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied forces after their capture of the city from the Rapid Support Forces in early January.

The Rapid Support Forces must also stop targeting civilians and civilian areas. On 1 February it bombed a market in Omdurman, killing 54 people, according to the Ministry of Health and the Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières, who was there at the time.

Targeting civilians and human rights defenders

On 31 January, the UN Human Rights Office reported that at least 18 people, including one woman, were killed in incidents attributed to Sudanese Armed Forces-affiliated fighters and militia since Sudanese Armed Forces regained control of parts of Khartoum Bahri in late January and early February.

Members of local Emergency Response Rooms, which are part of a nationwide network of youth humanitarian volunteers, told Amnesty that they were worried for the safety of their members given the recent pattern of violence against civilians and the inclusion of some of their members in some of the circulated lists. 

Amnesty also received worrying reports of lists being circulated of people to be targeted as alleged “partners of the Rapid Support Forces”. The lists include the names of politicians, activists, medical workers, public prosecutors and members of protest groups.

Although Amnesty is still working to verify the authenticity of the lists, given the fast-moving situation and repeated past violations by Sudanese Armed Forces and allied forces after gaining ground over the Rapid Support Forces, the organisation reiterates that all sides must not target civilians.

All parties to the conflict must not carry out reprisals on civilians or prisoners of war and must cease targeting civilians and civilian areas with airstrikes or shelling.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said:

“Again and again in Sudan’s ongoing war, when the frontlines change, civilians have faced brutal reprisal attacks. This has included summary executions of accused collaborators by whichever side gains the upper hand.

“In Khartoum state, Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, and their allies must protect civilians. Leadership of both sides must immediately and publicly order their troops and allies not to commit reprisals, and to allow safe passage for civilians to leave.

“Sudan’s international and regional partners including the UN, African Union and others must apply pressure to ensure the two sides respect the rights of civilians and prisoners of war.

“We have seen in the past how the Sudanese Armed Forces and their allied militia have killed or arrested anyone labeled as Rapid Support Forces collaborators, including small business owners or volunteers in humanitarian Emergency Response Rooms and other activists and civilians. These deadly reprisals must not take place again as Sudanese Armed Forces advances in Khartoum state.

“Conflating medical workers, legal workers, politicians, political parties, civil society and humanitarians with members of an armed group is extremely dangerous. Sudanese Armed Forces and its allies must immediately order their troops not to conduct any reprisals against civilians, including human rights defenders, humanitarians and prisoners of war.

“No matter who is in control of an area, civilians are the ones targeted, and the risk spikes whenever territory changes hands. As the frontlines rapidly shift throughout Khartoum state, both sides have an absolute legal obligation to protect civilians. The leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces may be criminally responsible if they fail to ensure their troops and allies do not harm civilians.”

Both sides must also cease targeting of civilians, civilian areas and infrastructure amid increased fighting and airstrikes in Darfur around the cities of El Fasher, Nyala and elsewhere.