Concern over Sudanese armed forces conduct in Sudan

The Sudanese Armed Forces' (SAF) reported use of drones has long been a cause for concern, particularly due to the potential harm caused to the civilian population. Human Rights Watch has reported in detail on how the SAF have been reportedly targeting individuals and communities it deems to be enemies. What was initially seen as collateral damage from the SAF's recapturing of territory is now seen as a dangerous tendency to exact revenge, which it is claimed to include kidnappings, shootings, and the destruction of homes.

The US imposed sanctions on the SAF for its reported use of chemical weapons and it is widely understood that these sanctions were also intended as a warning by the State Department over alleged multiple human rights violations.

In the meantime, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have made some strategically important advances. At the time of writing, in west Kordofan, only Heglig and Babanussa still remain under the control of the SAF. According to Africa Confidential, this means Sudan's oil fields could soon be under RSF control. And it is possible that the RSF may take the North Kordofan capital, El Obeid. Already they control the surrounding villages and it is believed they now have their sights set on overrunning the SAF troops in El Obeid itself If the RSF are able to take west Kordofan, they will gain access to agricultural production as well as control of much of the border with South Sudan, a crucial supply route.

The RSF have also made gains in what is known as the "tri-border areas", the mountainous land where Libya, Sudan and Egypt meet. Control here represents not only a psychological advantage, but also a strategic advance, as the tri-border area is a significant trade and smuggling hub. Military analysts say the RSF advance here reshapes the conflict's logistics, securing new supply lines for the RSE while depriving the SAF of a key source of fuel.

What does this shifting balance of power on the Sudanese chessboard mean for civilians in harm's way? There are fears that as the SAF continue to lose territory, it becomes ever more dependent on the Islamist militias that reportedly support them. Their attack as reported by the international media this month on a Pentecostal Church complex in Khartoum was widely condemned and fuelled fears that Christians in Sudan will be increasingly targeted.

There is also growing concern about allegations reported by media outlets of torture by the SAF. against men and women. Its General Intelligence Service (GIlS) is reported to be holding a pharmacist and has allegedly tortured her during interrogation, activists and family members told Darfur 24. Witnesses said agents arrested Hekma Mahmoud Sardar on 16 June at her pharmacy in Al-Rahad's main market without a warrant and took

her to an undisclosed location. Relatives later learned she was in GIS custody, accused of aiding the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It is claimed she was beaten and subjected to other forms of abuse during her first days of detention.  No one from the GIS or the RSF were available for comment at the time of publication but the group

Human Rights Watch has detailed alleged abuses by the Sudan Shield Forces, an armed group that is said to fight alongside the SAF and is said by media outlets and others to have deliberately targeted civilians and their property during an SAF offensive in Gezira state. The reported attack on the village of Tayba in Gezira state in central Sudan is said to have killed at least 26 people, including a child and injured more. There are reports that the  group also allegedly  systematically looted civlian property, including food supplies, and set fire to houses.

The US sanctioned SAF leader General al-Burhan for documented atrocities allegedly commited by his troops, including the reported indiscriminate bombing of civlians and the alleged use of starvation as a weapon of war. In January 2025 the New York Times reported the SAF's alleged use of chemical weapons, including, it was claimed, chlorine gas. The US State Department went on to impose sanctions more widely on the SAF based upon the allegations that it had used chemical weapons.Again no one was immediately available to address the allegations.

An African affairs specialist based in Brussels summed up the perceived threat the SAF poses to civilians: "Whether they are on the offensive, gaining back territory as they did in Khartoum, or on the defensive, losing ground as is happening now, the SAF does not hesitate to target civilians. This tendency is only worsened by the close ties that they have to Islamist forces. It is a painful reality that cannot be swept under the carpet, no matter how much General al-Burhan and Kamil Idris try to position themselves."

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