![SAF commander-in-chief and head of the Transitional Sovereign Council Abdelfattah al-Burhan.[Photo courtesy]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/68836005_2553450894705305_5280993806072676352_n.jpg?resize=670%2C286&quality=89&ssl=1)
In a statement issued on Monday evening, the government accused the RSF of executing more than 31 unarmed civilians “in cold blood,” and called on the international community to designate the group as a terrorist organization.
“This new terrorist crime by the militia has shaken the human conscience,” the statement said, adding that the attack was further evidence that the RSF is “waging a war on behalf of its regional sponsor, directed against the Sudanese people and their national state.”
According to the government, the killings occurred on Sunday in the Salha neighborhood, a densely populated area south of Omdurman, Sudan’s largest city.
Eyewitnesses and local activists have reported that RSF fighters raided homes, executed civilians at close range, and looted properties before withdrawing from the area. Graphic videos circulating online show dozens of lifeless bodies, many with gunshot wounds to the head or chest, though the RSF has not officially commented on the footage.
The government’s statement also condemned what it described as inflammatory rhetoric by an RSF spokesperson based in a European capital, who allegedly “boasted” about the killings and “threatened to commit more similar crimes,” including the “targeting of specific Sudanese communities” and the execution of detainees.
“Most of the victims,” the statement claimed, “are civilians.”
“These statements reflect the militia’s disregard for human values,” the government said. “They leave no justification for not classifying the militia as a terrorist group and its regional patron as a state sponsor of terrorism.”
The RSF, which evolved from the notorious Janjaweed militias in Darfur, has faced repeated accusations of widespread atrocities since the conflict began in April 2023.
Human rights organizations have documented mass killings, ethnic cleansing, sexual violence, and the targeting of civilians, particularly in Darfur, West Kordofan, and Khartoum state. Despite increasing evidence, calls to formally designate the RSF as a terrorist group have not yet gained significant traction internationally.
The government in Port Sudan stressed the urgent need for international action, stating: “There must be consequences for this militia and for the state that backs it, which continues to fuel conflict and carnage across the region.” The statement urged global actors to uphold international law and impose deterrent measures to prevent further atrocities.
As the war enters its third year, Sudanese officials fear that impunity, indifference, and international inaction are enabling more massacres. The government concluded by asserting that continued inaction would only embolden further crimes against Sudanese civilians.
