In a blatant racist crime that violates the most basic principles of human rights and international law, the Darfur Victims Advocacy Organization documented a mass arrest operation carried out by a joint military force from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigades. The operation took place in Jabal Awliya locality – Al-Nasr administrative unit, in the Mayo (Mandela) area, south of the Belt in the capital, Khartoum.
According to the testimony of a victim’s family—Joseph—the military force launched the raid on Sunday, 20 April 2025, around 2 PM. Four armed Land Cruiser vehicles arrived at Mandela Market carrying more than 40 individuals dressed in uniforms of the armed forces and Al-Baraa Brigades, led by an officer with the rank of captain.
This force conducted random arrests targeting 51 young men from South Sudan after subjecting them to racist interrogation, where detainees were asked: “Are you Northern or Southern?” If the answer was “Southern,” they were immediately detained and loaded into the military vehicles—without any arrest warrant or formal charges.
The detainees were initially taken to Omdurman prison, then later transferred to Soba prison without any trial or legal investigation.
Reliable reports confirm that authorities began extorting families of the detainees. One detainee was released after his family paid a ransom of 600,000 Sudanese pounds to an officer via the “Bankak” app, with threats that detainees would remain indefinitely unless the amount was paid.
The organization also documented brutal beatings, humiliation, and abuse of the detainees during detention in conditions that violate human dignity and contradict international treaties guaranteeing fair trials and prohibiting racial discrimination and arbitrary detention.
These events reflect a dangerous deterioration of human rights in Khartoum State amid the growing power of armed militias, increasing lawlessness, and escalating assaults on civilians—especially based on ethnic background.
Recommendations:
- Immediate and unconditional release of all detainees who have not been formally charged.
- An urgent and transparent investigation into the incident, and prosecution of those responsible among the army and Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigades.
- End racist practices and ethnic discrimination within law enforcement institutions, and guarantee protection of the rights of South Sudanese refugees and migrants.
- Call on the United Nations mission and international human rights organizations to intervene urgently and monitor the situation in Khartoum, and expose ongoing violations.
- Criminalize financial extortion of detainees and their families, and end the culture of impunity.
