The Sudanese Alliance for Rights strongly condemns the destruction of the Ardamata Bridge in West Darfur State during the morning hours of 9 June 2026. According to our sources on the ground, the bridge was destroyed amid ongoing military operations by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), causing severe disruption to civilian movement and humanitarian access in the region.
The Ardamata Bridge is not merely a transportation structure; it is a vital civilian lifeline connecting communities across West Darfur and facilitating the movement of humanitarian assistance, medical supplies, and essential goods. The bridge serves as a critical link between the state’s cities and surrounding areas, enabling civilians to access healthcare, markets, education, and other basic services. Its destruction further isolates communities already suffering from the devastating effects of more than three years of armed conflict.
The timing and location of this attack are particularly alarming given the humanitarian situation in West Darfur, including Ardamata and El Geneina, where civilians continue to endure displacement, insecurity, and limited access to life-saving assistance. The destruction of key infrastructure that civilians depend upon risks deepening the humanitarian crisis and obstructing the delivery of urgently needed aid.
This incident is not an isolated event. Since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023, Sudan has witnessed the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, including bridges, roads, hospitals, schools, water systems, electricity facilities, telecommunications networks, markets, and humanitarian assets. Major bridges in Khartoum, including Shambat Bridge and Jebel Aulia Bridge, were destroyed during the conflict, significantly restricting civilian movement and access to essential services. The repeated targeting, damage, or military use of infrastructure indispensable to the survival and wellbeing of civilians has become a disturbing hallmark of this war.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights recalls that international humanitarian law provides special protection to civilian objects and infrastructure. Under Article 52 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, civilian objects shall not be the object of attack unless and for such time as they become military objectives. Furthermore, Article 54 of Additional Protocol I prohibits attacks against objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Parties to a conflict must at all times distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives and must refrain from attacks expected to cause disproportionate harm to civilians.
The destruction of infrastructure that facilitates humanitarian relief may also violate obligations under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, customary international humanitarian law, and the principle requiring parties to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians in need.
At the regional level, the attack undermines rights protected under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including the right to life (Article 4), the right to dignity and security of the person (Article 5), the right to health (Article 16), and the right of peoples to economic, social, and cultural development (Article 22). The destruction of essential civilian infrastructure directly affects the enjoyment of these rights by populations already facing grave humanitarian conditions.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights calls for:
1. An immediate, independent, and impartial investigation into the destruction of the Ardamata Bridge and the circumstances surrounding the attack.
2. Accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed during the conflict.
3. Immediate measures to restore safe civilian passage and humanitarian access to affected communities in West Darfur.
4. The protection of civilian infrastructure, including bridges, hospitals, schools, water facilities, and humanitarian corridors, by all parties to the conflict.
5. Increased engagement by regional and international actors to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.
The continued destruction of civilian infrastructure across Sudan demonstrates a troubling disregard for the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution that form the foundation of international humanitarian law. Civilians must not bear the consequences of attacks on infrastructure essential to their survival and dignity.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights,
9 June 2026
