The Sudanese Alliance for Rights strongly condemns the brutal drone strike carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces on Sunday, April 20, 2025, targeting Haneen Medical Center in Al-Shibailab Market, located in the Jadain neighborhood of Al-Salha area, south of Omdurman city, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
The strike destroyed the center’s pharmacy, killing two female healthcare workers and several civilians seeking medical treatment, while injuring others with varying degrees of severity.
The strike also forced the complete closure of the facility, the last remaining operational health facility providing essential medical care to civilians in the area.
This attack represents a grave violation of international law, including:
- International Humanitarian Law: Attacking civilian-populated areas where individuals are not taking part in hostilities is a direct breach of the Geneva Conventions, which categorically prohibit assaults on civilians and civilian infrastructure during armed conflict.
- Customary International Law: Prohibits attacks on civilians and civilian objects, requiring all parties to a conflict to take every feasible precaution to protect civilian populations from the effects of military operations.
- International Human Rights Law: The drone strike violates several fundamental rights, chiefly the right to life and the right to an adequate standard of living, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The strike directly violates several provisions of the Charter, including Article 4 (Right to Life), Article 18 (Protection of the Family), and Article 24 (Right to a Satisfactory and Healthy Environment).
- The 1949 Geneva Conventions and Their Additional Protocols: These legal frameworks require parties to a conflict to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and refrain from targeting civilian infrastructure.
- UN Security Council Resolutions on Sudan: particularly those calling for the protection of civilians and preventing their targeting in conflict zones.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights calls on the international community, the African Union, and the United Nations to take immediate action to hold those responsible accountable, prevent further violations, and press for an end to military operations in residential areas.
The alliance expresses full solidarity with the victims and their families, and calls on all parties to uphold international law, safeguard civilian lives, and engage in a genuine pursuit of peaceful resolution to the conflict.
The alliance reaffirms its unwavering commitment to advancing justice, promoting accountability, and defending human rights across Sudan.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights- April 21, 2025
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