The Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR) expresses grave concern over a video circulated on social media on Friday, 12 December 2025, which appears to show Abu Aqla Mohammed Kaikal, Commander of Sudan’s Shield and affiliated to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), issuing threats against civilians attempting to flee El Obeid City in North Kordofan State, currently under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In the video, Abu Aqla is heard warning that civilians who attempt to leave the city would be shot. His remarks amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law(IHL) and international criminal law.
Under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (1949), all parties to a non-international armed conflict are prohibited from engaging in violence against life and person, including threats of murder against civilians. Civilians are entitled to protection against attack at all times.
Further, Article 13 of Additional Protocol II (1977) expressly provides that civilians shall not be the object of attack, and that acts or threats of violence whose primary purpose is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited. Threatening to shoot civilians attempting to flee hostilities would constitute such prohibited conduct.
The alleged remarks also violate the fundamental principle of distinction, a cornerstone of customary international humanitarian law, which obliges parties to a conflict to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants. They further contravene the principle of humane treatment, which prohibits coercion, intimidation, and collective punishment of civilians.
Moreover, preventing civilians from fleeing an area under siege may amount to the war crime of using civilians as human shields, as prohibited under customary IHL. It may also constitute unlawful confinement and forced displacement, depending on the circumstances. Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, intentionally directing attacks or threats of violence against civilians in a non-international armed conflict constitutes a war crime.
Abu Aqla Mohammed Kaikal is among the individuals sanctioned by the European Union on 18 July 2025 for involvement in serious human rights violations and actions threatening the peace, security, and stability of Sudan. While these sanctions represented an important step in the right direction, the circulation of such footage four months later underscores that they are insufficient on their own. More stringent and comprehensive measures are urgently needed to ensure accountability and prevent further violations, including targeted sanctions, independent investigations, and potential criminal proceedings.
SAR calls for prompt, impartial, and effective investigations into any threats or acts of violence directed against civilians and urges all parties to the conflict to immediately guarantee safe passage for civilians seeking to flee areas of active hostilities, in strict compliance with international humanitarian law. SAR further calls on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and other relevant regional and international mechanisms to urgently engage within their respective mandates, including through the adoption of protective and provisional measures, the initiation or strengthening of independent, impartial, and transparent investigations, and the pursuit of accountability measures, including targeted sanctions and criminal proceedings, against individuals responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in Sudan.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR)
16 December 2025
