The Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR) condemns in the strongest terms the devastating airstrike carried out by the Sudanese Army on Al-Kuma city, North Darfur, on February 23, 2025. This heinous attack resulted in the deaths of six innocent civilians, including a woman, and left many others injured. The airstrike, which targeted shelters housing displaced families, has caused widespread destruction, leaving the city in a state of unimaginable grief and fear.
This marks the 108th airstrike on Al-Kuma since the conflict began, further demonstrating the repeated and deliberate targeting of civilian areas by the Sudanese Army. The attack is a gross violation of international law and human rights, violating numerous provisions of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions (1949), specifically Common Article 3, which prohibits violence against persons taking no active part in hostilities, and Additional Protocol I (1977), which prohibits attacks on civilian populations and civilian objects. These airstrikes violate the fundamental principles of distinction (the requirement to distinguish between combatants and civilians) and proportionality (the prohibition of attacks that may cause excessive harm to civilians relative to the anticipated military advantage).
In addition, these actions constitute violations of Customary International Humanitarian Law (CIHL) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which explicitly prohibit war crimes such as targeting civilians, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, and destroying civilian property without military necessity.
Activists have rightly described the assault as an unprecedented massacre, exacerbating the suffering of a population already enduring immense hardship. We, at the Sudanese Alliance for Rights, join the growing chorus of voices condemning this brutal act as a “full-fledged war crime.” These airstrikes continue to decimate the lives of innocent civilians, leaving behind a trail of death, destruction, and despair. The situation in Al-Kuma is dire, and the human toll continues to rise with each passing day.
We call upon the international community to urgently intervene and impose measures to halt the Sudanese Army’s ongoing airstrikes. The repeated targeting of civilian infrastructure must be recognized for what it is—a deliberate attempt to break the spirit of the people of Darfur and a violation of basic human rights and dignity. These actions violate not only the laws of armed conflict but also Sudan’s obligations under international human rights law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantee the right to life and protection from arbitrary violence.
SAR demands that the perpetrators of this attack be held accountable for their actions under international law and calls for immediate steps to ensure the protection of civilians in conflict zones, particularly vulnerable displaced communities. We stand in solidarity with the people of Al-Kuma and all Sudanese civilians suffering from this unrelenting violence.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights reaffirms its commitment to advocating for justice, accountability, and an end to the targeted attacks on civilians. We call on all stakeholders, including the United Nations and regional bodies, to take decisive action to prevent further atrocities and to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights
24 February 2025