United States announces Special Envoy for Sudan

The U.S. State Department has appointed former diplomat and Congressman Tom Perriello as Special Envoy for Sudan. Special Envoys are personal representatives appointed by the president or the secretary of state, often to deal with a crisis in a specific region or play a key leadership role on complex, multilateral issues.

Perriello’s appointment comes as U.S. Ambassador to Sudan John Godfrey exits his post. It appears the United States will leave that position unfilled for now. The American embassy in Khartoum remains shuttered due to the ongoing civil war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

From Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s announcement:

Wait, what’s happening in Sudan?

One of the worst armed conflicts and the largest humanitarian catastrophe in the world.

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Special Envoy Perriello will work to empower Sudanese civilian leaders and drive our engagement with partners in Africa, the Middle East, and the international community to forge a united approach to stop this senseless conflict, prevent further atrocities, and promote accountability for crimes already committed.

He re-joins the Department having previously served as the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and the Democratic Republic of Congo and as the Special Representative for the second Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. He also represented Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District. Special Envoy Perriello’s extensive experience with peace, security and transitional justice issues on the African continent and other parts of the world have established him as a leader in this critical work. As he takes on this important role, he’ll draw on his over two decades of experience working across the executive branch, the legislative branch, multilateral institutions, and NGOs.

U.S. Special Envoys are the norm for Sudan

The Biden Administration appointing a Special Envoy is more or less a return to normalcy for how the United States has approached Sudan. Previous administrations over the past three decades often leaned on a Special Envoy to spearhead diplomacy. Ambassador Godfrey was the first U.S. Ambassador to Sudan in 25 years, making his posting a diplomatic anomaly.

Now, 18 months since he first walked into the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, Sudan is careening toward complete collapse as generals battle for control of a citizenry that does not want military rule. This is no fault of Ambassador Godfrey. As we noted at the time of his appointment, the prospect of war was already looming when he entered the job. Sudan was not a top priority of the U.S. government at the time either. It took nearly six months for the U.S. Senate just to confirm Godfrey as the U.S. ambassador to Sudan.

As the civil war in Sudan has spiraled over the past ten months, the silence of senior U.S. government officials and the chaotic international diplomacy to stem the killing has been truly mind-boggling. Multiple, unorganized rounds of peace talks led by various countries and organizations have failed to secure a ceasefire or improve humanitarian aid access. The current crisis requires a much more coherent international response, but the U.S. has largely failed to play its traditional role of coordinating and overseeing global efforts to silence the guns.

A challenging environment

The appointment of Tom Perriello to Special Envoy will hopefully bring some order to the chaos of the international response, but this move is no silver bullet. He comes into his role facing difficult political realities both at home and abroad.

If President Biden loses his reelection bid later this year, the Special Envoy position will likely disappear altogether as Perriello is a political appointee. Sadly, there are no signs that a potential Trump Administration will take a passing interest in Sudan. Congressional Republicans also aren’t thrilled with how the Biden Administration went about appointing a Special Envoy. Their primary concern, that this appointment is temporary in nature, has real merit considering the fractious state of U.S. politics.

But the most urgent need Perriello must address is consolidating American resources in fending off the numerous threats unfolding against the Sudanese people, including famine. The U.S. government has considerable regional resources it can bring to bear; however, with no embassy staff in country and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Sudan team currently operating out of Kenya, the structure of American power with regards to Sudan has been weakened.

This problem of drifting into being spread thin can be overcome, especially if the Special Envoy works closely with USAID Administrator Samantha Power, who has often been the lone senior U.S. official sounding the alarm about the tragedy unfolding in Sudan.

Since Special Envoy Perriello will be unable to cultivate relationships with ordinary Sudanese in the war zones, it would be wise for him to visit refugee and survivor communities. If peace and democracy can still be achieved in Sudan, listening to the extraordinary stories and concerns of ordinary Sudanese is the only place to begin.

See Ambassador Power’s remarks beginning at 4:41.

And this, of course, really is just the beginning. American policy toward Sudan is stuck in neutral and has too broad an emphasis. The dark shadows of famine and new frontlines creep deeper into the country by the hour. It’s past time for American policy to get proactive and very practical. Choking off the flow of weapons into Sudan can help. Delivering even limited aid where it can be delivered isn’t nothing, and finding creative ways to pressure and punish those who are putting up roadblocks is necessary.

Special Envoy Perriello can push U.S. policy into a more energetic stance that saves lives and shows the Sudanese they are not alone. Only time will tell if he can see through a needed course correction. For his part, the Special Envoy seems eager to get to work.

The crisis unfolding in Sudan is now the most dangerous and destructive humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Nearly 25 million Sudanese —roughly half the country— are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Over 9 million Sudanese have been internally-displaced and over 1.5 million more have fled Sudan altogether. And nearly 20 million children can no longer attend school.

Our Sudanese partners are struggling as the war spreads and needs skyrocket. Your generosity will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.

$2,200: Fund an entire classroom at Endure Primary School for one semester.

$1,000: Pays monthly salaries of 5 midwives.

$250 - Sponsors a life-saving C-section at Mother of Mercy Hospital.

$200 - Supports a teacher for one month.

$150 - Pays a nurse assistant’s salary for an entire month.

$100 - Give pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.

$50 - Gives a day’s worth of medicine to three clinics.

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Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

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• The U.S. State Department has appointed former diplomat and Congressman Tom Perriello to the position of Special Envoy for Sudan. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-announces-special-envoy-for-sudan

• Sudan is careening toward complete collapse as generals battle for control of a citizenry that does not want military rule. A new Special Envoy may be able to help. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-announces-special-envoy-for-sudan

• The appointment of Tom Perriello to Special Envoy will hopefully bring some order to the chaos of the international response, but this move is no silver bullet. He comes into his role facing difficult political realities both at home and abroad. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-announces-special-envoy-for-sudan

Specter of ethnic killing looms in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains

Editor’s Note: We believe that it is important to bear witness to the atrocities underway in Sudan. This update includes disturbing language. If you are unable to read it out of concern for your mental health, we encourage you to read our Sudan Crisis Guide here instead. Thank you.

After ten months of brutal warfare in Sudan, the weight of armed conflict and ethnic mass killing are bearing down more heavily on frontline areas of the southern Nuba Mountains, one of the least known regions of the country.

Sudan has been in a state of extreme civil war since April 2023, when the military regime fractured into two groups fighting for control. The economy and over 70% of the country’s healthcare system has collapsed. Famine is a growing threat. Nearly 25 million Sudanese —roughly half the country— are already in need of some form of humanitarian aid. Sudan is now the largest humanitarian catastrophe on the planet.

The situation in the Nuba Mountains has its own local complexities. Before we get to recent events here, we want to offer some background on the area.

About Nuba

The Nuba Mountains are in South Kordofan state in southern Sudan. This is where our primary Sudanese partners work.

Several dozen African tribal groups living here can trace their beautiful history here back more than 2,000 years. Roughly 1.3 million Christian, Muslim, and traditionalist Nuba people live in harmony.

The Nuba have survived two genocidal wars over the last thirty years by the military regime in Khartoum. Today, the mountains are functionally autonomous underneath an indigenous Nuba armed resistance force.

Learn more about the history of the Nuba people here.

Map: Location of Nuba Mountains. (Operation Broken Silence)

Who is fighting?

There are three groups of armed actors in the Nuba region:

• Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) - Nuba armed resistance force of African ethnicity controlling much of the mountains.

• Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) - Sudan’s official military that includes the army, air force, and navy and militia allies.

• Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - a regional Arab paramilitary outfit created in Darfur by a previous national regime and militia allies.

The main combatants in Sudan’s civil war (SAF and RSF) used to be allies and have fought together against the Nuba people in the past. The SPLM-N has remained neutral in the war.

Learn more in our Sudan Crisis Guide.

Photo: Nuba SPLM-N soldiers on patrol near the southern frontlines of the mountains. (Operation Broken Silence)

Becoming a safe haven against the rising RSF threat

When SAF and RSF ended their alliance and went to war with each other in April 2023, the Nuba Mountains became one of the few safe areas of the country. The Nuba SPLM-N have remained neutral in the SAF-RSF war after having fought off both forces repeatedly in the 2010s. Local Nuba officials estimate that over 900,000 Sudanese have fled into the mountains over the last 10 months, putting significant humanitarian strains on the region.

Most areas of the Nuba Mountains remain calm today, but there are worrying signs this could change in the near future.

Fighting erupted between SAF and the Nuba SPLM-N in June 2023. Combat was sporadic and limited to the west and northwest. SAF controls the state capital of Kadugli and some of Dilling further north. The Nuba SPLM-N controls much of the road in between the two cities and has a strong presence near Kadugli and in some of Dilling’s neighborhoods.

Since December, fighting between the two groups has reduced significantly as the RSF’s presence grows to the west and north. The RSF controls Dibebad in the far-northwest and has overrun a string of other smaller SAF outposts in the north.

View fullsize

Reported frontlines as of February 2024. Click or tap to zoom. (Operation Broken Silence)

A sizable portion of the RSF fighting force adheres to an extremely racist, Arab-supremacist ideology, which states that Darfur’s historic African tribal groups must be cleansed from the region and all other Sudanese Arabs are inferior. This ideology has spread with the RSF into other parts of Sudan throughout the war, leading to RSF fighters executing SAF prisoners of war and civilians, raping and pillaging, and robbing countless more people they deem inferior.

Dilling is home to Arab and African Nuba tribes. There is deep concern that if the predominantly Arab RSF seizes Dilling, they will perpetrate a large-scale ethnic massacre of the African Nuba, similar to massacres they have committed in Darfur. The RSF has tried to arm some citizens in the city who fear SAF, leading one resident to describe the RSF as trying to “start a race war.” SAF has also armed militias in Dilling in response.

In early January, a large RSF force moving south from Dibebad attacked Dilling. Eyewitnesses report that Nuba SPLM-N reinforcements promptly entered the city and, together with SAF and small numbers of local militia, pushed the RSF out after intense fighting. Thousands of Dilling’s citizens were displaced, but a large-scale ethnic massacre was likely narrowly avoided. RSF commander Hussein Barshom —whose men have been seen committing war crimes elsewhere in Sudan— was spotted in Dilling during the incursion.

It is unclear if the Nuba and SAF have some sort of agreement, but the reduced fighting between the two sides and their joint counteroffensive against the RSF in Dilling shows just how much their commanders fear the RSF expanding further into the area.

Where the RSF goes, ethnic killing follows

Events over the past several weeks in and around Dilling show that further RSF expansion into the Nuba region will be disastrous for human life. The growing RSF shadow is raising ethnic tensions in the region.

Shortly after the RSF attacked another SAF garrison in early January, a rumor spread through SAF ranks in Dilling that some army soldiers had “enabled” the RSF to gain ground. A rash of extreme violence broke out that included brutality between SAF officers and soldiers. Some of SAF’s 54th Infantry Brigade split along ethnic lines —SAF is a fairly diverse fighting force, although racism exists in its ranks— and engaged in killing, torture, and mutilation of dead bodies. A SAF soldier accused of being a traitor suffered what was described by an eyewitness as a “crucifixion,” with his throat being slit and his body strung up upside down.

Photo: Children living in Yida Refugee Camp, just south of the Nuba Mountains. (Operation Broken Silence)

These events occurred only a few days before the RSF attacked Dilling. Following the RSF retreat a few days later, two more dead bodies were found hanging in the same area. Eyewitnesses reported that the corpses were janjaweed, a pejorative term associated with the RSF. Who displayed the bodies in such a gruesome way is unknown, but it seems to be a warning to the RSF to stay out of Dilling, or else.

Based on the RSF atrocities we have seen in Darfur and rising tensions in the Nuba Mountains, it is evident that any larger conflict involving the RSF in the Nuba region would be catastrophic for the local population. Where the RSF goes, ethnic killing follows.

RSF command-and-control issues and racism may spark a wider conflict

Small-scale RSF attacks have expanded to other SAF garrisons around the Nuba Mountains throughout 2024, a sign that the RSF’s reach is growing in the area. RSF fighters are now pushing up against territory under control of the SPLM-N and the Nuba people who the RSF have a history of persecuting.

Some direct fighting between the RSF and Nuba SPLM-N has already taken place. The town of Habila —east of Dilling— and the army garrison stationed there was overrun by the RSF in early January, forcing roughly 15,000 people to flee into Nuba SPLM-N territory. The Nuba SPLM-N responded on February 9 by driving the RSF out of the town and securing some of the surrounding areas. Many people have chosen not to return home for now as they fear the RSF could strike again. Armed Arab and Nuba tribesmen are now fighting near Habila, risking further escalation between the Nuba SPLM-N and RSF if one group decides to enter the fray.

It does appear that neither SAF nor RSF brass want to fight a full-scale war with the Nuba SPLM-N, at least right now. Picking a fight with the most powerful and well-trained rebel force in Sudan on their home turf would be a strategically dumb move considering how stretched both forces are across multiple frontline areas in the country. The Nuba SPLM-N has been aggressive in defending their own borders and people, including seizing limited amounts of new territory to widen buffer zones, but has also shown little interest in joining the civil war outright.

Photo: The southern foothills of the Nuba Mountains during the rainy season. The rocky terrain gives a natural defensive advantage to the Nuba SPLM-N. (Operation Broken Silence)

Still, this should provide no comfort. Both SAF and RSF have command-and-control issues, especially when it comes to more rural areas where telecommunications are minimal or absent. As the RSF is largely on the offensive in the region, their command-and-control challenges are the most alarming. All it takes is a few too many accidental RSF incursions into Nuba SPLM-N territory —or RSF troops giving into their ethnic killing proclivities— to force the Nuba SPLM-N into a broader war with the RSF.

Preparing for a larger crisis

As the RSF shadow over frontline areas of the Nuba Mountains spreads, both SAF and the Nuba SPLM-N appear to be preparing for a larger confrontation with the RSF.

SAF is responding by beefing up its presence in the state capital of Kadugli, which will likely become a primary target for the RSF as their presence grows in the region. The 14th Division headquarters there recently received fresh reinforcements and supplies, but their hold on the city still seems less than sure. There is chatter that SAF is going to try to reopen the highway between Kadugli and Dilling, which is nominally under control of the Nuba SPLM-N. Considering the growing RSF threat and the SAF command-and-control issues seen in Dilling, it is unclear if SAF is in a position to try to take this critical road.

Meanwhile, Nuba SPLM-N commanders are keeping wary eyes on their increasingly frayed borders. A large number of Nuba forces have been forward-deployed since the war began 10 months ago. Besides ongoing minor adjustments at the local level, the Nuba SPLM-N seems largely prepared to fight against the RSF at a larger scale if it comes to that. The indigenous force is much more cohesive and restrained than SAF and the RSF are, which is perhaps one of the main reasons why a larger conflict hasn’t sparked yet.

At this point it also seems unlikely the Nuba SPLM-N will sit back and allow the RSF to take Dilling or Kadugli if SAF falls in either city. Both are home to sizable populations of ethnic Nuba who would almost certainly be massacred by an invading RSF force.

Whatever the future brings, the threat of RSF atrocities being unleashed on the Nuba people is real and urgent. At the time of this posting, RSF paramilitaries are rampaging in Kartala near Habila —the town recently liberated by the Nuba SPLM-N— and Jebel El Dayir. Survivors fleeing into nearby areas held by the Nuba SPLM-N report more than 60 people have already been killed and that over a dozen villages have been burned to the ground.

The blaring sirens of genocide being heard in Darfur are now being heard in the Nuba Mountains. We’ve seen this story before. We know how it ends. We must do what we can to help.

We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Our primary education and healthcare partners are in the Nuba Mountains region.

Nuba healthcare workers and teachers are already struggling to meet the growing needs around them. Your generosity will help them bring lifesaving medical care and education to those most in need.

$2,200: Fund an entire classroom at Endure Primary School for one semester.

$1,000: Pays monthly salaries of 5 midwives.

$250 - Sponsors a life-saving C-section at Mother of Mercy Hospital.

$200 - Supports a teacher for one month.

$150 - Pays a nurse assistant’s salary for an entire month.

$100 - Give pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.

$50 - Gives a day’s worth of medicine to three clinics.

Checks can be make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Start a Fundraising Page | Donate Stock | Give Crypto

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Shareables

Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.

• Share To Instagram Stories | Repost on Threads | Share On Facebook | Repost On LinkedIn

• After ten months of brutal warfare in Sudan, the weight of armed conflict and ethnic mass killing are bearing down more heavily on frontline areas of the southern Nuba Mountains, one of the least known regions of the country. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/specter-of-ethnic-killing-looms-in-nuba-mountains

• Events over the past several weeks in and around Dilling show that further RSF expansion into the Nuba Mountains region will be disastrous for human life. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/specter-of-ethnic-killing-looms-in-nuba-mountains

• When SAF and RSF ended their alliance and went to war with each other in April 2023, the Nuba Mountains became one of the few safe areas of the country. This could change in the near future. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/specter-of-ethnic-killing-looms-in-nuba-mountains

• The blaring sirens of genocide being heard in Darfur are now being heard in the Nuba Mountains. We’ve seen this story before. We know how it ends. We must do what we can to help. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/specter-of-ethnic-killing-looms-in-nuba-mountains

U.S. Senate resolution recognizing genocide in Sudan

A bipartisan resolution is being introduced in the United States Senate that recognizes targeted violence committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militia against non-Arab ethnic communities in Darfur as acts of genocide.

Genocide is an internationally-recognized crime where acts are committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Confirming in a court of law that the crime of genocide has been committed requires meeting a very high legal threshold. In the case of Sudan, there is mounting evidence that RSF crimes in Darfur may meet this threshold and the resolution reflects that. We have posted the full text below. A summary of some key points can be found as well.

Resolution Summary

Senate Resolution 559 is titled A resolution recognizing the actions of the Rapid Support Forces and allied militia in the Darfur region of Sudan against non-Arab ethnic communities as acts of genocide. Actions on the resolution can be tracked here.

Congressional resolutions are statements about policy. While they do not have the force of law, they are still important. Resolutions can put pressure on the Biden Administration to adjust policy and raise awareness in the American public and global community.

This resolution gives an overview of crimes committed by the RSF within the context of the legal definition of genocide. From pages 5-6:

Whereas there is significant evidence of widespread, systematic actions against the non-Arab ethnic communities of Darfur, including the Masalit people, committed by the RSF and allied militia that meet one or more of the criteria under Article Il of the Genocide Convention, including-

Wait, what’s happening in Sudan?

One of the worst armed conflicts and humanitarian catastrophes in the world.

SEE OUR GUIDE ➡

(1) killing members of the non-Arab ethnic communities in Darfur in mass killings of civilians, including summary executions in the streets and shootings of civilians fleeing across the Wadi Kaja river and to the Chad border, targeted killings of men and boys, targeted killings of Masalit leaders, and burials in mass graves;

(2) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of such communities, including through extrajudicial detention, torture and beatings, extortion, sexual and gender-based violence, mass rape, sexual slavery, and forced displacement; and

(3) deliberately inflicting on such communities conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part, including the annihilation of villages, targeted attacks on marketplaces and schools; widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and telecommunication, the looting of homes and hospitals, assaults on camps for displaced persons, the destruction of humanitarian facilities, the killing of aid workers, and restrictions on humanitarian aid and access…

The resolution goes on to condemn atrocities committed by the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces and calls for an immediate end to the war. It then urges the Biden Administration to take the following actions:

1. Step up international efforts to save lives by establishing civilian safe zones and humanitarian corridors.

2. Enforce the United Nation’s arms embargo on Darfur.

3. Broker a comprehensive ceasefire and disarmament of the warring parties.

4. Support efforts to document atrocities and genocidal acts and publicly release information to the greatest possible extent.

5. Identify mechanisms to fund community-based humanitarian efforts.

6. Regularly review and update the atrocities determination in Sudan.

7. Support tribunals and international criminal investigations to hold the RSF and their allied militias accountable.

8. Requests the Atrocity Prevention Task Force review its efforts to prevent, analyze, and respond to atrocities in Sudan.

Left to right: Senators Ben Cardin, Jim Risch, Cory Booker, and Tim Scott. (Official photos provided by Senate offices)

Cosponsor Statements

This bipartisan resolution is cosponsored by:

Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He says “The RSF and allied forces, under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, have committed heinous atrocities in Darfur, including those the Secretary of State has called crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing — some of which bear the hallmarks of genocide. This tragic repeat of history must not go unpunished. Hemedti and those who support his forces must be held accountable. I urge African leaders to act swiftly at this week’s African Union Summit to condemn these crimes and to come to an agreement on establishing a means to protect civilians from further atrocities. I continue to call on the Biden Administration to name a High Level Special Envoy to lead U.S. efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and to find a diplomatic solution going forward. The world must wake up to what is happening in Sudan, and work together urgently to put an end to this tragedy.” 

Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He says, “For the last 10 months, the RSF have carried out unspeakable horrors in Sudan, including the elimination of non-Arab peoples in Darfur. Twenty years ago, the U.S. Congress was the first body to recognize the genocide in Darfur committed by the government of Sudan and its proxy Janjaweed militia. Tragically, history repeats itself and now we must do the same. The United States must do all it can to bring an end to the conflict in Sudan and the genocide in Darfur. This includes holding the belligerents accountable and supporting the needs of the Sudanese people and their efforts to lead their country.” 

Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa. He says, “The conditions that enabled genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region nearly 20 years ago were never fully resolved, and the unfathomable horrors that have recently been committed there by the RSF and its allied militias against the Masalit and other ethnic minorities require us to speak out, demand justice and accountability for victims, and begin working towards a sustainable peace that ensures Sudanese civilians are at the center of any reconciliation process. The United States must engage at the highest levels to end the war, prevent further atrocities and suffering, and demand greater respect for human rights and unfettered humanitarian access.”

Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa. He says, “Civilians in Darfur are being raped and murdered in ruthless, ethnically targeted attacks by the RSF, and the Biden administration shamefully refuses to call these atrocities against an African minority what they are – genocide. We must stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves and shine a light on these horrific acts of terror.” 

The crisis unfolding in Sudan is the most dangerous and destructive humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Nearly 25 million Sudanese —roughly half the country— are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. 9 million people have been internally-displaced and nearly 1.5 million more have fled the country.

Our Sudanese partners are struggling as the war spreads and program costs skyrocket. Your generosity will help them bring lifesaving relief to those who have fled Darfur.

$200: Supports a teacher for one month.

$150: Pays a nurse assistant’s salary for an entire month.

$100: Provides pencils, notebooks, and other basic school supplies for 16 students.

$50 - Helps deliver basic medicines.

Checks can be make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Start a Fundraising Page | Donate Stock | Give Crypto

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Shareables

Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.

• Share To Instagram Stories | Repost on Threads | Share On Facebook | Repost On LinkedIn

• A bipartisan resolution in the United States Senate that describes targeted violence committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against non-Arab ethnic communities in Darfur, Sudan as acts of genocide. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/senate-resolution-introduced-recognizing-genocide-in-sudan

• "The RSF and allied forces, under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, have committed heinous atrocities in Darfur...some of which bear the hallmarks of genocide." - Senator Ben Cardin https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/senate-resolution-introduced-recognizing-genocide-in-sudan

• "The United States must do all it can to bring an end to the conflict in Sudan and the genocide in Darfur." - Senator Jim Risch https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/senate-resolution-introduced-recognizing-genocide-in-sudan

• "The United States must engage at the highest levels to end the war, prevent further atrocities and suffering, and demand greater respect for human rights and unfettered humanitarian access." - Senator Cory Booker https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/senate-resolution-introduced-recognizing-genocide-in-sudan

• “Civilians in Darfur are being raped and murdered in ruthless, ethnically targeted attacks by the RSF...We must stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves and shine a light on these horrific acts of terror.” - Senator Tim Scott https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/senate-resolution-introduced-recognizing-genocide-in-sudan

• Senate Resolution 559: A resolution recognizing the actions of the Rapid Support Forces and allied militia in the Darfur region of Sudan against non-Arab ethnic communities as acts of genocide. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/senate-resolution-introduced-recognizing-genocide-in-sudan

U.S. State Department adds Sudanese war criminal to War Crimes Rewards Program

Photo: Ahmed Muhammed Harun (AP Photo/Abd Raouf, File)

The U.S. State Department has designated Ahmad Mohammad Harun, an indicted Sudanese war criminal, under the War Crimes Rewards Program. This program offers rewards up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of designated foreign nationals accused of war crimes, genocide, or crimes against humanity.

Harun was part of the senior leadership of the Bashir regime, which fell to a combined pro-democracy movement and military coup in 2019. The International Criminal Court indicted him in April of 2007 for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. In May of 2007, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Harun for crimes committed in Darfur, noting that he was also responsible in the 1990s “for massacres in the Nuba Mountains” that earned him the nickname “The Butcher of Nuba.”

Harun was one of dozens of Sudanese officials arrested in the 2019 pro-democracy protests that toppled former dictator Omar al-Bashir. He was never turned over to the ICC for trial.

Shortly after a resurgent military regime collapsed into civil war in April 2023, Harun was released from prison in Khartoum. He announced that he and several other Bashir-era officials were in a “safe place.” His whereabouts are now unknown.

From the State Department’s announcement:

Wait, what’s happening in Sudan?

One of the gravest armed conflicts and humanitarian catastrophes in the world. We have the basic information you need.

SEE OUR GUIDE ➡

“Harun is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004.  During this time, Harun stands accused of recruiting, mobilizing, funding, and arming the notorious Janjaweed militia, a precursor to the Rapid Support Forces, and participating in atrocities, including murder, rape, torture, forcible transfer of population, persecution, and other inhumane acts.  It is critical that Harun be found and that he appear before the ICC to face the charges against him.   

Lasting peace in Sudan requires justice for victims and accountability for those responsible for human rights abuses and violations, both past and present.  There is a clear and direct connection between impunity for abuses under the Bashir regime, including those of which Harun is accused, and the violence in Darfur today.  Indeed, we are seeing some of the same perpetrators victimizing some of the same communities in ways that are an ominous reminder of the horror unleashed twenty years ago.  We welcome the ICC Prosecutor’s announcement that he is investigating the ongoing violence and urge all States to cooperate with the ICC in its Darfur investigation.  

Those with information about Harun’s whereabouts should contact the War Crimes Rewards Program here.

Get Involved

The crisis unfolding in Sudan is the most dangerous and destructive humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Nearly 25 million Sudanese —roughly half the country— are now in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. 7 million people have been internally-displaced and nearly 1.5 million more have fled the country.

Our Sudanese partners are struggling as the war spreads and program costs skyrocket. Your generosity will help them bring lifesaving relief to those who have fled Darfur.

$200: Supports a teacher for one month.

$150: Pays a nurse assistant’s salary for an entire month.

$100: Provides pencils, notebooks, and other basic school supplies for 16 students.

$50 - Helps deliver basic medicines.

Checks can be make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Start a Fundraising Page | Donate Stock | Give Crypto

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Shareables

Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.

• The U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrest, transfer, or conviction of Ahmed Harun. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-state-department-adds-sudanese-war-criminal-to-war-crimes-rewards-program

• Harun is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-state-department-adds-sudanese-war-criminal-to-war-crimes-rewards-program

• Harun stands accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. In the 1990s, he was also responsible for massacres in the Nuba Mountains that earned him the nickname “The Butcher of Nuba.” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-state-department-adds-sudanese-war-criminal-to-war-crimes-rewards-program

• “There is a clear and direct connection between impunity for abuses under the Bashir regime, including those of which Harun is accused, and the violence in Darfur today.” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-state-department-adds-sudanese-war-criminal-to-war-crimes-rewards-program

Leaked UN report exposes hellish atrocities in Sudan

Editor’s Note: We believe that it is important to bear witness to the atrocities underway in Sudan. This update and report includes disturbing images and language. We ask that you bear witness with us. If you are unable to out of concern for your mental health, we encourage you to read our Sudan Crisis Guide here instead. Thank you.

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Photos: Imagery of reported site of alleged body disposal near El Geneina in Darfur taken 25 June 2023, 12 Aug 2023, and 06 Sep 2023. Survivors and eyewitnesses report at least 30 known mass grave sites around the city. (Sudan Conflict Observatory)

A damning report has leaked from the United Nations concerning the spiraling conflict in Sudan. The document was prepared by a five-member panel of monitors appointed by the Security Council. As of the time of this posting, the UN has not released it to the public.

Several news agencies and a growing number of people in human rights, humanitarian, and advocacy communities are in possession of the report. We have posted the full 47-page document below. A summary of some key points can be found as well.

The El Geneina Massacre: 10,000-15,000 Killed

When the civil war began in Khartoum on April 15, 2023, fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) quickly spread to the western Darfur region. It was immediately clear that the RSF was going to use the fog of war to target the region’s historic ethnic African minorities, who have been oppressed by the RSF for years.

Wait, what’s happening in Sudan?

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Between April and June of 2023, the UN monitors write that El Geneina in West Darfur descended into "intense violence" (pg.18). The African Masalit tribe was the primary target of ethnic cleansing, which was led by the RSF and their local Arab militia allies. It is noteworthy that the panel describes preparations for the massacre began weeks before the war even began:

“The attacks were planned, coordinated, and executed by RSF and their allied Arab militias…The largest mobilization (of Arab militia) within El Geneina took place weeks before 15 April, when clashes in Khartoum commenced, and went on until 24 April. These militias were assembled in various areas in El Geneina and surrounding areas…

RSF established local headquarters in neighbourhoods that served as operational centres. Amir Masar (Arab militia leader and recruiter) frequently visited some of these headquarters, distributing weapons, and coordinating RSF-militia. In addition, allied militias established their own operational centres which were frequently visited by RSF officers for coordination purposes.

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Map: Key locations mentioned in this summary. Click or tap to expand. (Operation Broken Silence)

The ethnic cleansing of El Geneina seems to have been planned in great deal by the RSF and their allies, with the apparent aim to maximize their destruction of the Masalit people:

“Between 24 April and 19 June, the city of El Geneina in West Darfur underwent a period of intense violence. This was followed by the takeover of SAFs' 51 Division in Ardamatta on 4 November by RSF. Historic ethnic tensions between communities were instrumentalised by prominent military, political, and traditional leaders for their own political and economic gain. RSF and allied militia deliberately targeted civilian neighbourhoods, IDP gathering sites, and IDP camps, schools, mosques, and hospitals, while looting homes, INGOs and UN compounds. Furthermore, they deliberately rendered useless water pumps that were vital for the survival of the community. RSF and allied militia deliberately targeted Masalit community…

There were 120 IDP gathering sites in El Geneina locality, hosting over 80,000 people, mostly Masalit, who were displaced in previous attacks on their community. During the recent violence, these IDP gathering sites were systematically attacked, looted, burnt and destroyed. The severe and widespread attacks on these sites and neighbourhoods caused renewed displacement.”

Civilians sought shelter in various schools and mosques, with the Azahara girls' boarding school in Al Madaris becoming a large gathering site housing an esimated 1,000 families, over 5,000 people. Next to it, the Algadima school, sheltered 3,500 families. These sites and others were bombed with heavy artillery and mortar. On 12 June, witnesses relayed that approximately 26 bombs hit IDP gathering sites in one day. Although exact numbers were difficult to establish, witnesses reported significant number of deaths and injured, including women and children, some estimating between 60 and 70 casualties daily…

Following the killing of the Wali, Masalit and other African communities decided to seek protection at Ardamatta. At midnight, a convoy of thousands of people, including women, children, injured, elderly, vehicles, and animals moved from Al Madaris and Al Jamarek neighbourhoods towards Ardamatta. When reaching Ashati area and Anasim bridge, RSF and allied militia indiscriminately opened fire on the convoy. Survivors reported that an estimated 1,000 people were killed.”

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Photos of IDP gathering sites targeted and destroyed during the violence in El Geneina. (UN confidential source)

Despite the ethnic nature of the killings, page 21 of the report explains how brave members of El Geneina’s Arab communities refused to participate in the slaughter of their Masalit neighbors, and in some cases put themselves in harms way to save them:

“It is important to note that not all members of the Arab communities were involved in the violence, and that many actively protected the Masalit people. Masalit individuals found refuge in the homes of their Arab neighbours, who assisted them in escaping to Adré, Chad. Many Masalit leaders expressed gratitude for being released based on assurances and declarations of innocence from their Arab neighbours.”

The panel goes on to explain how the RSF and their allied Arab militias continued their ethnic cleansing campaign in great detail to the very end. From page 25:

“Between 14 and 17 June, an estimated 12,000 people, including women and children, left El Geneina for Adré (Chad) by foot. When reaching RSF checkpoints women and men were separated, harassed, searched, robbed, and physically assaulted. Young men were particularly targeted and interrogated about their ethnicity. If identified as Masalit, many were summarily executed with a shot to the head. Women were physically and sexually assaulted. Indiscriminate shootings also injured and killed women and children. All testimonies mentioned many dead bodies along the road, including those of women, children and young men.”

The UN monitors collected evidence and testimonies from over 120 interviews with victims and eyewitnesses. It was reported, consistently, that RSF and allied militias committed severe violations of international law. This appears to back up the U.S. State Department’s recent determination that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing are being committed in Sudan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the atrocities this way: “Masalit civilians have been hunted down and left for dead in the streets, their homes set on fire, and told that there is no place in Sudan for them.”

The scale of the mass killing in El Geneina is truly shocking. The report raises the estimated death toll to 10,000-15,000 people. This is significantly higher than previous estimates, and the UN monitors came to their revised figure after talking with intelligence sources. An estimated 555,000 individuals have fled into Chad since the beginning of the conflict.

The report also provides further details on the RSF massacre of Masalit civilians in the town of Ardamatta in November, where many survivors had sought shelter. Up to 2,000 additional men, women, and children were murdered and buried in mass graves. The report points out that “A survivor interviewed by the Panel reported being detained and tortured with several hundred other detainees, of which only four escaped.”

The national death toll from the war has recently been estimated at around 12,000. Based on survivor accounts and now the UN, the mass killings in West Darfur alone eclipse the entire estimated national death toll. The much larger capital city of Khartoum is also a lawless and bloodied shell of its former self, and other cities and communities have lost countless citizens to the violence. Getting an exact death count remains impossible due to ongoing violence and perpetrators covering up and denying their crimes. What we do know is that decisive global action is still sorely needed.

International community failing to halt flow of weapons and financing

The leaked UN report goes on to confirm that weapons are still flowing freely into Sudan. Special attention is given to the United Arab Emirates, which has been flying weapons from Abu Dhabi to Amdjarass in eastern Chad. The report says the weapons and ammunition are loaded onto trucks and driven across the border into Darfur, where they are distributed to the RSF. The UAE has claimed its base at Amdjarass exists for humanitarian purposes.

The weapons shipments began as far back as June 2023 and are a violation of the UN arms embargo on Sudan. The UN monitors point out that UAE flights occurred around the exact time that advanced weaponry began being used by the RSF, including drones, multiple-rocket launchers, anti-aircraft missiles, and howitzers. These are weapons systems the RSF has traditionally never had. “This new RSF firepower had a massive impact on the balance of forces on the ground,” the report says.

The report corroborates the existence of the RSF’s massive illicit financial network, which include gold-smuggling and loaning out RSF soldiers as mercenaries. The monitors write:

"Complex financial networks established by RSF before and during the war enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups.”

They are also unsparing in their indictment of the often chaotic and unorganized diplomatic efforts to end the war:

“…an excess of mediation tracks, the entrenched positions of the warring parties, and competing regional interests meant that these peace efforts had yet to stop the war, bring political settlement or address the humanitarian crisis."

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Public Photo: A picture taken on June 16, 2023 shows decaying bodies in El Geneina.

What can be done?

If the promise of never again is to become reality, then it is past time for world leaders to get physical with Sudan’s war criminals. A genocide determination has not been made with regards to Sudan, but the evidence available strongly suggests that the RSF is engaged in crimes that meet this high legal threshold.

Immediate steps the international community should take are glaringly obvious. Fully funding cash-strapped humanitarian efforts in diversified and creative ways is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit. Shutting down illicit financial flows that are funding this senseless war is another. Drastically ramping up global efforts to enforce a true arms embargo on Sudan is needed.

With regards to the latter, the obvious place to begin is putting real pressure on the UAE to end its support to the RSF. It has been known for months that the Amdjarass base in eastern Chad is the primry point for weapons flowing to the RSF. The fact that this base still exists is truly absurd.

The United States and other parties seeking a ceasefire have asked those who are funneling weapons into Sudan to knock it off. Unsurprisingly, mediocre statements aren’t getting the job done. Considering the immense loss of human life in Sudan and the destruction still underway, it is not unreasonable to expect that world powers demand the UAE stop its actions. Failure to do so should result in the international community moving forcefully to shut down the Amdjarass resupply route, either by working intensively with the government of Chad to kick the UAE out or threatening the base with direct military force.

In his December remarks about the U.S. government determining that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing are being committed in Sudan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken rightfully said:

“Today’s determination does not preclude the possibility of future determinations as additional information about the parties’ actions becomes available. The United States is committed to building on this determination and using available tools to end this conflict and cease committing the atrocities and other abuses that are depriving the Sudanese people of freedom, peace, and justice.”

It is past time that the US and others use those “available tools.” Too many Sudanese men, women, and children are dead today because of this war and the RSF’s hatred. Human life is precious and must be protected. No one can stop this war overnight, not even the generals who started it. But there are practical things world leaders can do to cripple their ability to wage war and commit atrocities, as well as help survivors and those in danger.

The only question world leaders face is if they have the willpower to turn their commitments into reality. Time will tell, but time is something the Sudanese people are already in short supply of.

Get Involved

The crisis unfolding in Sudan is the most dangerous and destructive humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Nearly 25 million Sudanese —roughly half the country— are now in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. 7 million people have been internally-displaced and nearly 1.5 million more have fled the country.

Our Sudanese partners are struggling as the war spreads and program costs skyrocket. Your generosity will help them bring lifesaving relief to those who have fled Darfur.

$200 - Feeds four families for one month.

$150 - Provides a daily nutritious meal to 32 children for a week.

$100 - Gives culturally-sensitive, quality garments to five women in need.

$50 - Helps deliver basic medicines.

Checks can be make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Start a Fundraising Page | Donate Stock | Give Crypto

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Shareables

Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.

• A damning report has leaked from the United Nations concerning the spiraling conflict in Sudan. Learn more: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/leaked-un-report-exposes-hellish-atrocities-in-sudan

• Between April and June of 2023, the UN monitors write that El Geneina in West Darfur descended into "intense violence." The African Masalit tribe was the primary target of ethnic cleansing, which was led by the RSF and their local Arab militia allies. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/leaked-un-report-exposes-hellish-atrocities-in-sudan

• The scale of the mass killing in El Geneina is truly shocking. The report raises the estimated death toll to 10,000-15,000 people. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/leaked-un-report-exposes-hellish-atrocities-in-sudan

• The leaked UN report goes on to confirm that weapons are still flowing freely into Sudan. Special attention is given to the United Arab Emirates, which has been flying weapons from Abu Dhabi to Amdjarass in eastern Chad. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/leaked-un-report-exposes-hellish-atrocities-in-sudan

• No one can stop this war overnight, not even the generals who started it. But there are practical things world leaders can do to cripple their ability to wage war and commit atrocities, as well as help survivors and those in danger. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/leaked-un-report-exposes-hellish-atrocities-in-sudan

Movement Spotlight: Gary Casady

Operation Broken Silence is a small nonprofit with a big mission of empowering Sudanese heroes in some of the most oppressed parts of their country. We’re only able to do this with the help of our movement, which includes donors, fundraisers, volunteers, and partnerships found around the world.

We want to share a story from our movement with you today! Meet Gary Casady, one of our supporters from Oregon. Gary ran virtually in our annual 5K last fall, an event that benefits local teachers in Yida Refugee Camp. He says:

“I have had the privilege of being in Sudan and surrounding countries, so am more aware than most of the disasters that have taken place there. Our son Brian has been to the Nuba Mountains and travelled with locals who have become friends. I have been able to attend a conference in Nairobi for pastors from Sudan, so am acquainted with them and the challenges of their ministries.

I have never considered myself a fundraiser. I like the phrase "friendraiser" that I have heard others use. I just engage myself with people where I feel God is working and where He moves me to be involved. I share this with friends, giving them the opportunity to ask God if He wants them involved in some way. Then I just rest in what God provides and does. 

In my weekly exercise I have a goal ‘3x3"‘, that is 3 miles three times a week. So, I have a few 5k routes marked out that I do weekly. My favorite one is the one I did for Eden's run. It is back roads that provide great scenes, hence the designation ‘Sevenmile Hill Scenic Slog.’”

Gary took one of the most innovative approaches we’ve ever seen from our virtual runners. He mapped out in detail where he would be running. In the weeks leading up to the run, he sent his course, a few pictures of it, and his fundraising page to friends and family asking them to give. Those who donated received personal thank you! Race day arrived and Gary’s wife Linda followed along to take a few photos.

By the end of his run, Gary had exceeded his $1,250 goal by raising $3,156!

Absolutely amazing! After his run, Gary emailed his supporters a touching and humorous thank you note with a few photos. Here’s what he wrote:

“Dear Friends,

We made it. Linda came along in her Subaru as my own private Paparazzi. God bless her abundantly. I came in first place to the rousing caws of ravens. You should try it sometime - design your own race and run it by yourself and you'll come in first place, hoorah. My time was a PR. How did I run so fast? It was the shoes.

We were off at 7:00am sharp as the full moon was setting in the west and the thermometer read 23F. Linda drove to critical points along the race route for photos. We arrived back home at around 7:40am. We had french toast omelets and fresh fruit for breakfast. The attached photos tell a story.

Thank you for all of your donations, encouragement, prayers and support. The cause of supporting the teachers and schools for these internally displaced kiddos is a great work in which you have all engaged. There is still time to donate through Monday.”

Gary has provided all of us a fantastic example of how to fundraise: be friendly, be direct, and have fun! His final words of encouragement for all of our fundraisers and future runners comes from his faith:

“Step into what you believe God is doing and share this with others. It is His work. He gives us the privilege to be involved. He will provide when and how He wills.”

Thank you to Gary, Linda, and all of your supporters for serving the teachers and kids in Yida Refugee Camp. The funds you raised and gave are being used to pay teacher salaries, deliver school supplies, and more. And thank you for encouraging our team with your kindness and generosity during this especially difficult season in Sudan.

Ready To Get Involved?

The current crisis unfolding in Sudan is now the most dangerous and destructive humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Nearly 25 million Sudanese —roughly half the country— are now in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. 7 million people have been internally-displaced and nearly 1.5 million more have fled the country.

Our Sudanese partners are struggling as the war spreads and program costs skyrocket. In 2024, we’re searching for 100 supporters who can give $50/month to their life-saving work. ⚡️Your first three monthly gifts will be matched by a private donor.⚡️

The Renewal is our passionate family of monthly givers supporting Sudanese heroes. When we match their grit with a monthly financial commitment, we become an unstoppable force for good.

91 more monthly givers are needed.

You’ll receive updates from our partners roughly every 4 months and an annual giving statement at the beginning of each year.

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Other Ways To Help

Online Donations - You can make a one-time gift above by selecting One time.

Checks - Make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mail to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Start a Fundraising Page - Ask friends and family to give!

Donate Stocks & Mutual Funds here.

Give Cryptocurrency here.

Movement Spotlight: Emily Selby Smith

Operation Broken Silence is a small nonprofit with a big mission of empowering Sudanese heroes in some of the most oppressed parts of their country. We’re only able to do this with the help of our movement, which includes donors, fundraisers, volunteers, and partnerships found around the world.

We want to share about a recent partnership that benefits you and everyone else in our movement, and beyond! Meet Emily Selby Smith, a graduate student in the Anthropology Department at the University of Memphis:

“Currently, I am a master's student in UofM’s Applied Anthropology program. I was drawn to the department and UofM because they are deeply engaged with helping the community.

My research interests are in genocide education and recovery, so working with community organizations collaboratively is very important to me. One thing that drew me to genocide education and recovery is the need to discuss what is happening, often it can be so difficult to speak about it but with more education efforts I believe that things can change!”

Sudan is not well-known to many people, and that’s not their fault. The country is rarely in the news for sustained periods of time and makes even fewer appearances in high school and college textbooks. Learning about the diversity of people living there and their challenges is not as easy as it should be.

Emily has partnered closely with our team since May 2023 to help us begin changing that. She worked across the organization to overhaul and expand our educational materials so they can be more useful to teachers, students, and people who want to learn more:

“After some preliminary searching of what is out there, I began to interview supporters, educators, and people within the organization to understand how they used the Educators and Learners pages, what they would like to see, and what steps could be taken in the future. I then continuously worked to write, rewrite, and edit while paying attention to the images and videos we could use.

One thing that stood out to me during my research was the lack of resources on women’s experiences in Sudan. Often it can be both difficult to address and underreported, but many interviewees shared that they hoped to be able to teach about it and have the language and resources to do so. By creating a resource page specifically for women’s experience I believe that it brings together this very difficult topic to address in ways that can spark hope and change.”

As the crisis in Sudan continues to escape the world’s attention, resources like these are critical to closing knowledge gaps with veteran and new supporters alike, as well as help to bring in new faces who want to learn more and get involved. Emily says:

“Often violence does not start out of the blue, and the violence in the Nuba Mountains and Sudan highlight that. The new resources are able to inform teachers and students about the multiple and complex issues of Sudan while also presenting information about international genocide prevention and protection. By presenting both sides, I believe it shows not only what is happening but how international processes work and might bring about change in the future!”

Our desire is that partnerships with Operation Broken Silence benefit and encourage everyone involved. For Emily, that meant deepening her educational drive and benefiting others along the way:

“After speaking with teachers and supporters about how they use these resources it gave me a larger drive to continue genocide education. But also, being able to make changes based on what everyone wanted to see to benefit all in the future was such a fulfilling experience. Changing and adding resources only helps the OBS and the people of Nuba for more visibility and advocacy.”

Thank you to Emily and our friends in the Anthropology Department at the University of Memphis for helping us with this critical project. Improving our educational resources was not something we could have accomplished on our own, and we are always encouraged when we get to partner with the university.

Join Our Mission In 2024

The current crisis unfolding in Sudan is now the most dangerous and destructive humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Entire communities are being destroyed by extreme violence and hunger. Our Sudanese partners are struggling as the war spreads and program costs skyrocket.

In 2024, we’re searching for 100 supporters who can give $50/month to their life-saving work. ⚡️Your first three monthly gifts will be matched by a private donor.⚡️

The Renewal is our passionate family of monthly givers supporting Sudanese heroes. When we match their grit with a monthly financial commitment, we become an unstoppable force for good.

91 more monthly givers are needed.

You’ll receive updates from our partners roughly every 4 months and an annual giving statement at the beginning of each year.

Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.

Other Ways To Help

Online Donations - You can make a one-time gift above by selecting One time.

Checks - Make payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.

Stocks & Mutual Funds - Use this giving form to donate stock. To give from a mutual fund, download our Investment Fund Transfer Form and follow the instructions. Please note that all stock and mutual fund donations are nonrefundable.

Cryptocurrency - Use this giving form to donate crypto. Please note that all crypto donations are nonrefundable.

Fundraise - Start a fundraising page and ask friends and family to give! These last few days of the year are the perfect time to fundraise.

As Darfur falls to the RSF, where is the outrage at their atrocities?

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian on December 12, 2023. It is written by Ahmed Gouja and edited by Philip Kleinfeld.

Photo: International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan meets with Darfuri refugee leaders in Adré, eastern Chad to hear their accounts of mass killings in Darfur. (ICC Photo)

Abdo Idriss* was not a wealthy man, but he was famous around Ardamata. For decades, he rode a donkey cart with a water tank around the Darfuri neighbourhood, a vital job that brought him into almost everybody’s home on one occasion or another.

His life was ended, however, in late October, when fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) knocked on his front door and demanded riches. When Idriss said he only had a solitary donkey, they shot him dead and killed his sons.

For the past few weeks, the RSF has been seizing full control of Darfur after ousting the Sudanese army from its main bases, one of which was in Ardamata. In the process, its fighters have killed hundreds of civilians and pushed thousands from their homes. As a Darfuri journalist and human rights monitor (currently exiled in Kenya) I have been documenting these abuses on a daily basis. I have been struggling with patchy phone and internet connections and wrestling with my own sense of powerlessness.

As the number of dead has surged, I have been asking why all these international humanitarian treaties and laws are failing us, and why the UN Security Council and the African Union are staying so conspicuously silent.

With the RSF now in control over most of Darfur and the capital Khartoum, and the national army in charge of north and eastern Sudan, I fear our country is likely to be split like neighbouring Libya, which is ruled by rival governments. Already, the RSF is trying to present itself as a legitimate ruler in Darfur. It has been doing some basic community services and has even sent humanitarian aid to some of the same communities that its fighters have terrorised.

Yet, as RSF supporters carry out a propaganda campaign – calling on people to return to their homes – its members and allied militiamen continue to abuse people. Much of Darfur is scarred by war and there is little to suggest the paramilitary force can rebuild it. Instead, an RSF-controlled Darfur will mean no accountability for perpetrators of atrocities. It will mean no justice for people like Abdo Idriss, a man whose death symbolises to me the loss of so many innocent and peaceful lives in this war.

Haunting videos and shameful silence

The RSF is led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is better known as Hemedti. It evolved out of the Darfuri Arab militias – known as the Janjaweed – that were created by our government in the early 2000s to crush Darfur’s mostly non-Arab rebel groups.

Darfur has been badly impacted by conflict since the RSF and army started fighting each other in April. Battles rocked major towns for several months, with both sides showing little regard for the many civilians being stuck between them. The RSF was in the ascendency from the start, but it began taking full control of Darfur in late October. It has now seized army garrisons in four out of the region’s five states: Central Darfur, East Darfur, South Darfur, and West Darfur.

In several places, local community leaders arranged for the army to surrender their bases to avoid a bloody final showdown. These interventions saved lives and show the powerful role that civil society groups are still playing in this conflict. However, the army fought back in other areas and mobilised local residents to help. This resulted in acts of collective punishment against civilians by the RSF, most notably in Ardamata, a suburb of El Geneina, the capital city of West Darfur.

RSF forces there accused members of the non-Arab Masalit group of supporting the army. After seizing the military base in early November, its fighters went through residential areas, killing hundreds, possibly thousands of Masalit. Survivors who fled to neighbouring Chad told me that Masalit and other non-Arab civilians in Ardamata were slaughtered during house-to-house searches. Others said civilians were seized at checkpoints, taken to the side of the road, and shot dead.

In one of several videos that surfaced, I watched a man asking to be shot by RSF fighters who were forcing him and others to bury themselves alive. I do not have the words to describe this kind of inhumanity.

The Ardamata attack was the latest in a line of RSF atrocities against West Darfur’s Masalit. Since April, over half a million Masalit have fled to Chad, and rights groups, UN experts, and governments have warned of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Yet the international community has remained shamefully silent, and the UN Security Council is yet to pass a substantive resolution on any aspect of the broader Sudan conflict.

Twice attacked, twice displaced

Ardamata was not the only place attacked by the RSF in recent weeks. Civilians at a displacement camp in Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur, were also targeted en masse as the paramilitary group seized the army garrison there in late October. The displacement camp housed victims from the early 2000s conflict, and occupied a space close to the army base. Because soldiers crossed through it and used its market, RSF fighters targeted it for collective punishment.

I spoke to a man from the camp – which is called Hasahisa – who said he has seen 12 people killed by RSF fighters and allied militias as they raided his part of the camp. He said women and girls were raped, and the dead were left unburied. As thousands of people fled, homes were burnt and properties were looted. My source said the militia fighters took everything: tuk-tuks, tyres, beds, mattresses. He said they left the camp with nothing.

The displaced escaped to other parts of Zalingei and are now sheltering in a school and at a university building. But after several months of conflict, Zalingei is a tough place to be even for those that haven’t been uprooted. The Hasahisa attack brought back memories of the early 2000s for camp residents, and it made me wonder why a powerful militia is targeting people with so little power? Why raid their camps? Why burn down their houses?

Life under the RSF: ‘You may face your death at any moment’

After seizing bases and carrying out these atrocities, the RSF has been trying to scrub away the evidence of its crimes, while at the same time strengthening its reputation as a legitimate ruler in the region.

In parts of West Darfur, the group has been preventing Masalit civilians from escaping to Chad to shield it against allegations of crimes against humanity. “How can there be ethnic cleansing if there are still Masalit in El Geneina,” RSF officials will try to say. Meanwhile, in Ardamata, RSF members have been burying bodies, collecting war remnants, and sending humanitarian aid into the town. They even arranged a reconciliation conference that they forced survivors to join.

How can a group responsible for killing hundreds of civilians, and of raping women and girls, be the one trying to reconcile people just a few days later? This is a question that needs to be raised a hundred times over.

The RSF has also been reputation-laundering in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. Since ousting the military on 26 October, it has used its resources to support a large pharmacy, repair telecommunication services, and help clean up the city’s main market. These kinds of activities have been seized upon by RSF members and supporters who are fighting a propaganda war on social media. Every day, they try to convince people of the RSF’s magnanimity.

Yet insecurity persists in Nyala and the other areas the RSF now controls. Its fighters and allied militiamen are still travelling around with weapons on motorbikes, stealing from people, and sometimes even killing them. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine lost his brother, a rickshaw driver, in Nyala. The driver was at a market when two RSF-aligned militiamen asked him to take them to a northern neighbourhood. When they arrived, they shot him dead and took his vehicle.

“We don’t see shells and missiles, but we don’t have any safety,” my friend told me when describing the incident. “You may be moving around, and you may face your death at any moment. You cannot go and report it because there is no mechanism to do so.”

Standing against the division of Sudan

While the lack of justice and accountability is perhaps the bleakest prospect of an RSF-ruled Darfur, it is hard to imagine how a genocidal militia will go about putting together any kind of functioning government.

How are they going to help businesses operate when there are no banks? How are they going to pay government workers their salaries? Will they be running police stations and the judicial system? What are they going to do to rebuild the towns, cities, and villages that their own forces have wrecked? Government buildings have been destroyed, so who is going to pay to fix them?

To take full control of Darfur, the RSF will also need to capture North Darfur state. Yet various non-Arab rebel groups have promised to support the army if the RSF tries to do this. More bloody battles like those in West Darfur likely loom.

To avoid these nightmarish scenarios, we must use our voices to stand against this conflict and against the division of Sudan, advocating instead for a civilian government that rules the whole country equitably. A key job of such a government would be to hold the warring parties accountable for what they have done since April. The memories of Ardamata’s Abdo Idriss, the residents of Hasahisa, and the rickshaw drive from Nyala, all deserve nothing less.

*Name has been changed for security reasons.

The New Humanitarian puts quality, independent journalism at the service of the millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the world. Find out more at www.thenewhumanitarian.org.