The Sudanese Alliance for Rights strongly condemns the targeted killing of civilians by armed elements affiliated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N) in the Al-Buwebnis area of Bout Town, Blue Nile State, on 21 May 2025.
According to verified reports, five unarmed cattle herders from the Lahawin tribe, including a 12-year-old boy, were shot dead by SPLM-N fighters riding in two four-wheel-drive vehicles. The attackers reportedly shouted that “no one of Arab descent should remain in the area”, indicating an explicit ethnic motive.
This horrifying act of extrajudicial killing is not only a gross violation of the right to life—it is also a disturbing sign of the growing campaign of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement targeting Arab communities in the region. These killings are part of a broader attempt to fracture Sudanese society along ethnic and tribal lines.
The attack violates multiple international and national legal frameworks, including:
- International humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks against civilians and demands protection of all non-combatants during conflict;
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Sudan has ratified, and which forbids any form of ethnic persecution;
- Sudan’s own constitutional and criminal laws, which guarantee the protection of life and prohibit murder, hate crimes, and acts inciting ethnic hatred.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights therefore:
- Condemns this ethnic-based killing in the strongest terms possible;
- Demands an independent and impartial investigation, and the prosecution of those responsible for this atrocity;
- Calls on the SPLM-N leadership, including those holding positions in the Transitional Sovereignty Council, to immediately cease all attacks on civilians and publicly denounce such violence;
- Urges the international community to monitor and respond to these violations with urgency and to increase efforts to prevent the escalation of ethnic-based violence in Sudan;
- Reaffirms its solidarity with the families of the victims and all communities subjected to persecution and forced displacement.
We must not allow Sudan to be torn apart by hate, impunity, and silence. The path to peace lies in accountability, justice, and the unwavering defence of the rights and dignity of every Sudanese citizen.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights
26 May 2025