DailySun
Khartoum – In the chaotic environment of Sudan, factors such as an individual’s skin color and their place of origin can lead to detentions by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the regions they oversee.
Many incidents documented by leading human rights organizations show that civilians are subjected to summary trials, which can result in execution.
This troubling situation mirrors a revival of apartheid-like systems across Africa, fueled by regionalism and racial bias.
Extremist Islamist factions allied with the military are notably active in northern and eastern Sudan, conducting arbitrary arrests of citizens from Kordofan and Darfur—areas situated in western Sudan—based solely on their appearance and dialect.
This alarming practice is commonly dubbed the “Western Faces Law.”
Though it lacks official codification, the term signifies the army’s deliberate targeting of those who are not part of the indigenous populations in eastern and northern Sudan.
Individuals fleeing the conflict to these areas, originating from western Sudan, are often arrested, imprisoned, and frequently condemned to death on charges of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Islamist militias, operating under military command, enforce this unwritten law by identifying and segregating civilians based on their Western Sudanese background.
Documented Cases
Under the Western Faces Law, a court in Atbara sentenced medical student Aya Mustafa Khairallah to death on 10 June 2024, for alleged collaboration with the RSF.
She was transferred to Port Sudan prison for execution, although an appeals court later halted her sentence.
The women’s rights initiative “No to Women’s Oppression” launched a campaign called “Let’s Unite Against Wounds,” advocating for a reevaluation of judicial decisions against women sentenced after unfair trials.
In another case, in November 2024, paramilitary forces detained 18-year-old student Omar Ahmed Abdelhadi as he traveled alone from his family home in Al-Khuwai, West Kordofan, to prepare for his high school exams in a northern state.
This journey—a desperate effort to pursue his education amidst prolonged school closures due to the war—was abruptly interrupted.
A military-controlled court convicted him and sentenced him to five years in prison on charges of supposedly supporting the RSF.
His father conveyed his grief to Sudanese media: “My son’s only crime was trying to pursue his education despite the circumstances. Schools in our area had been shut for nearly two years due to war, and he risked everything to take his exams. Instead of achieving his dream, he found himself behind bars.”
Forced Displacement and Systematic Persecution
After war broke out in Khartoum on 15 April 2023, millions of civilians sought safety in relatively secure areas like Gedaref, Kassala, the Red Sea, and River Nile states—regions governed by the Sudanese army.
Nevertheless, those with ties to Western Sudan faced systematic oppression under the Western Faces Law.
On 31 December 2024, legal expert Rehab Al-Mubarak, a member of the Emergency Lawyers group, revealed to Sudan Tribune that 250 individuals had been sentenced to death or life imprisonment in army-administered areas on charges of supporting the RSF.
She pointed out that these sentences were frequently based solely on ethnic or regional identity.
Among those sentenced were 16 women, many of whom received death or life sentences in Damazin, Blue Nile State.
Countless others remain jailed, awaiting trial on similar accusations.
Al-Mubarak emphasized that while the army alleged that residents of Darfur, Nuba Mountains, and Kordofan sympathized with the RSF, it also prosecuted northern Sudanese civilians opposing the war under Articles 50 and 51 of Sudan’s Penal Code, which relate to “undermining the constitutional order” and “waging war against the state.”
The Western Faces Law is primarily enforced by mobilized paramilitary forces aligned with Sudan’s Islamist movement, which collaborates closely with the army.
Detainees face trials under existing draconian laws—such as the Sudanese Penal Code—by military-controlled courts that do not meet even the most basic standards of due process.
Racial Persecution and Political Retaliation
According to Darfur Lawyers Association chairman Al-Sadiq Ali Hassan, arbitrary arrests for alleged RSF collaboration have become a common weapon of war, affecting numerous innocent people.
In a September 2024 interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Hassan reported that military intelligence in northern Sudan indiscriminately detains displaced individuals fleeing the conflict in Khartoum, often subjecting them to harsh interrogations and physical abuse.
He stated, “Many detainees are held for months without charges, only to face prosecution later under fabricated accusations of colluding with the RSF.
“Authorities take advantage of provisions in the Sudanese Penal Code relating to crimes against the state, effectively criminalizing ethnic identity.”
Meanwhile, Emergency Lawyers attorney Mohamed Salah described the Western Faces Law as “a combination of racial persecution and political retaliation.”
He underlined that it disproportionately affects certain ethnic groups and regions, violating both Sudan’s Constitution and its Constitutional Declaration, which promise equality among citizens in rights and duties.
In an interview with Al-Jamahir newspaper in December 2024, Salah warned, “The real threat of this law lies in empowering ordinary citizens, motivated by ethnic animosity, to detain individuals based solely on their appearance.
“It has transformed into a tool for the systematic persecution of individuals from Darfur and Kordofan.”
He further noted that “this discriminatory practice was first instituted in Kassala State” before it spread to other military-controlled regions.
RELATED: Sudan’s Military Retakes Republican Palace, Drone Attack Kills Soldiers, TV Reporters – The Bulrushes
