Local group reports civilian killing, mass arrests by pro-army forces South of Khartoum

April 3, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese emergency response group on Thursday reported a wave of arrests and the alleged execution of a civilian earlier this week by forces allied with the army in the Mayo area south of Khartoum.

The Southern Belt Emergency Room’s (SBER) report followed accounts in local media of alleged summary killings by army personnel of citizens accused of collaborating with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Separately on Thursday, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk called on Sudan’s army leaders to halt civilian killings in the capital and ensure accountability.

SBER spokesperson Ahmed Farouk told Sudan Tribune the group had “documented the killing…of citizen Nizar Ahmed by forces called Al-Fateh Al-Mubeen” in the Mayo Al-Qitati district. The pretext given was “that he resembled members of the Rapid Support Forces,” Farouk said.

Ahmed had no political or military affiliations, Farouk added.

He said the Sudanese army arrested more than 700 young men in the Mayo, Mandela, Angola and Dar Al-Naeem districts after deploying forces there on the second day of the recent Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Farouk said SBER was documenting recent alleged killings and executions in Khartoum’s Southern Belt region. He asserted that allied battalions entering with the army targeted the area based on prejudice, leading to arbitrary arrests on regional and ethnic grounds and committing “horrific massacres.”

“We are working to document these violations…to reveal them to the media and public opinion soon,” Farouk was quoted as saying.

The reports follow the withdrawal of RSF fighters from several parts of Khartoum in late March amid significant army advances. The army said it regained control of the city centre, including the presidential palace and key ministry buildings.