Calls for national committee and broad front to protect civilians in war-torn Sudan
April 6, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Yasir Arman, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement— Revolutionary Democratic Current (SPLM-RDC), has called for the formation of a national committee to protect civilians. This move coincides with violations they face from both parties to the military conflict in several states.
Arman’s call comes as the war in Sudan completes its second year, with no hope of stopping it on the horizon due to the warring parties’ insistence on continuing the fight until the end, hoping for a complete military victory.
The violations committed by the Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in several states have met with widespread criticism and condemnation from political forces, international actors, and human rights groups, which have repeatedly called for strict measures to protect civilians.
National Committee
In his call, Arman stated, “The time has come to form a national committee comprising Sudan’s most influential sons and daughters at home and abroad to defend the rights of all Sudanese civilians to life, security, relief, and housing throughout the country.”
He indicated that the committee must represent Sudanese diversity and national unity and stand against the division of Sudanese men and women.
Arman explained that attacks and war crimes against civilians are escalating unchecked, without a strong, influential voice inside or outside Sudan.
He added, “What is happening now in the Al-Jumu’iya area south of Omdurman, Mayo and Al-Hizam south of Khartoum, and against civilians in El Fasher, El Obeid, and other areas is an act that shames humanity, amid escalating hate speech and calls to turn the war into targeting specific geographical areas.”
He stated that the ethnic and regional trends of the war and hate speech make this conflict distinctively directed against all Sudanese civilians and the national fabric. It is a war, he said, aimed at tearing apart and fragmenting Sudan, which will not produce democracy or social justice, regardless of the claims of its proponents and managers.
Arman continued, “Let our voices rise and our efforts be organized to protect civilians in El Obeid, El Fasher, Mayo, Al-Hizam, the Al-Jumu’iya area, and the whole of Sudan. Let us stand against all regional, geographical, and ethnic tendencies to wage wars.”
Accusations Against Warring Parties
Human rights groups have accused members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of carrying out field executions against several citizens in Al Jazirah state and localities of Khartoum state that it recently recaptured, alleging they collaborated with the RSF – accusations the Army has refused to comment on. Conversely, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are accused of committing widespread violations against civilians in Al Jazirah state before being pushed out of the area, in addition to their continued targeting of the cities of El Obeid in North Kordofan and El Fasher in North Darfur state with heavy artillery, resulting in the deaths of large numbers of civilians.
For about a week, the RSF has been launching retaliatory attacks against citizens in the villages of the southern countryside of Omdurman locality, causing the deaths of more than 100 people and the displacement of thousands.
Establishing a broad front
Commenting on the call to form a national committee to protect civilians in Sudan, Saleh Mahmoud, a leader in the Sudanese Communist Party, told Sudan Tribune that the violations faced by civilians fall under the most heinous international crimes – crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes – accusing both parties to the military conflict of involvement in these crimes.
Mahmoud suggested establishing a broad national front, which he said would be more effective in protecting civilians as it would include those who reject the war and the fragmentation of Sudan, and would call for stopping attacks, applying justice against those involved in committing crimes, and addressing the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
He said that the two warring parties in Sudan are tools in the hands of regional and international powers that have interests in continuing the war and dividing Sudan to control its resources.
For his part, human rights defender Abdalbasit Al-Haj says that attacking civilians is prohibited under international humanitarian law, which obliges conflicting parties to provide necessary protection and avoid causing any harm to civilians.
Al-Haj added, speaking to Sudan Tribune, that what is happening in the villages of “Al-Jumu’iya” in Omdurman locality is an explicit targeting of civilians, as these villages are civilian locations with no military bases belonging to the Army in these areas, and that what is occurring is a deliberate attack to kill and displace civilians by the RSF.
He noted that the call to form a national committee for civilian protection is acceptable if the RSF stops attacking civilians, but he added, “However, the RSF deliberately and primarily targets civilians.”
He continued, “The RSF is not qualified to protect civilians. The initiative is reasonable, but the reality on the ground is different due to ongoing violations, such as the siege of El Fasher and the targeting of El Obeid with artillery, a pattern clearly practiced by the RSF… El Fasher is now starving, and the RSF is deliberately besieging it. There are cities like Dilling and Kadugli also facing suffocating sieges. These forces must be compelled to lift the sieges on cities and stop targeting civilians.”