Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) carried out a months-long campaign of systematic violence against civilians in Sudan’s Al Jazira state, targeting communities on an ethnic basis in what amounts to ethnic cleansing, according to a detailed investigation by Lighthouse Reports in collaboration with CNN.
The investigation found that SAF, alongside Islamist-backed allied militias including the Sudan Shield Forces, deliberately targeted non-Arab farming communities known as the Kanabi across Al Jazira province, using military operations as cover to clear entire areas of civilians deemed not to belong there. The campaign involved mass killings, arson, forced removals and the dumping of bodies into canals and mass graves, the report said.
According to the investigation, the violence began in October 2024 in the lead-up to SAF’s campaign to retake the state capital Wad Madani from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and continued for several months after SAF regained control of the city in early 2025. While SAF publicly described the operation as a “cleanup” of rebel pockets, the investigation found that it was used as a pretext for widespread attacks on civilians across Al Jazira state.
The Kanabi are farming communities largely of non-Arab, Black Sudanese descent, many of whom moved to Al Jazira from Darfur and Kordofan in the 1950s as agricultural labourers. They live in villages known as kambos and have long faced marginalisation due to their ethnicity. The investigation found that SAF exploited these entrenched ethnic divisions to justify a campaign aimed at driving the Kanabi from their land.
Lighthouse Reports and CNN said they uncovered extensive evidence of ethnic violence through the verification of hundreds of videos, satellite imagery analysis and on-the-ground interviews with survivors and SAF whistleblowers. The material revealed what the investigation described as a targeted military campaign against civilians, the deployment of undisciplined SAF-aligned paramilitary groups, and efforts to conceal evidence of crimes after the attacks.
Using a three-source verification standard, the investigation confirmed 59 attacks on kambos between October 2024 and May 2025. An additional 87 attacks were reported through survivor interviews and open-source material. Researchers also verified and geolocated more than 50 videos documenting SAF presence during attacks, including footage showing arson, mass graves and the disposal of bodies.
Several high-level sources interviewed by Lighthouse Reports and CNN said the orders for the campaign originated from the highest ranks of SAF, with influential Islamist figures exerting pressure on military leadership. SAF and Sudan’s General Intelligence Service did not respond to questions posed by investigators.
Survivor testimony collected by the investigation describes patterns of ethnic targeting. Miriam, whose name was changed for her safety, recounted how SAF soldiers entered her hometown in Al Jazira state as they advanced towards Wad Madani. She said four soldiers came to her house and demanded that her sons leave with them. “They said that no one from the Blue Nile region was allowed to stay,” she told investigators, referring to areas inhabited by non-Arab African communities. Her sons and brother were taken away on motorcycles. Shooting continued throughout the day, and houses were set on fire. She later learned that at least some of the gunfire killed her sons and brother.
At least seven other survivors from Al Jazira state gave similar accounts, describing civilians being targeted based on their ethnic background and labelled as foreigners despite having lived and worked in the area for decades. Whistleblowers from within SAF and allied groups provided corroborating accounts that matched survivor testimony, the report said.
One community leader told investigators he witnessed SAF soldiers dumping three bodies into a canal. He later travelled across Al Jazira state documenting destroyed kambos, including villages that had never been occupied by RSF. “What is happening now in Al Jazira,” he said, “is that they want to destroy the areas where an African majority lives.”
The investigation concluded SAF and its allied militias used military operations against RSF as a pretext to forcibly remove populations their leadership believed did not belong to the area. The findings point to an organised campaign of ethnic violence against civilians.
