Recruitment of Sudanese Women: The Dark Side of the War in North Kordofan

The Sudanese National Human Rights Observatory expressed in a post on platform X “its deep shock and condemnation of the circulating videos showing the recruitment of women into the ranks of the army—and its Islamist allies—and the establishment of training camps for them in the city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.”

The Observatory considered that “this development is a troubling indicator of the expanding scope of recruitment, which raises serious concerns about its implications for human rights and the protection of civilians and requires a transparent investigation and accountability of officials in accordance with the law.”

The Human Rights Observatory warned that the involvement of civilians, especially women, on the battlefield represents a dangerous escalation and a clear violation of the basic principles for the protection of civilians during armed conflicts.

In a statement posted on its account on platform X, the European Union urged all parties to the conflict in Sudan to fully respect international humanitarian and human rights law, including the protection of civilians—especially women and girls—and civilian infrastructure.

A few days ago, international reports accused the Sudanese army and its Muslim Brotherhood allies of carrying out campaigns of mass executions and the systematic abduction of women in areas under their control. The spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said that a new report by the mission concluded that “the Sudanese army carried out attacks described as brutality against civilians in Wad Madani and Khartoum, including mass killings and systematic abductions of women and girls, as well as large-scale gang rapes.”

A report by the Sudanese newspaper Edraak confirmed a few days ago that “while the media machine is distracting the world with a whitewash, the real targets are shifting to other fronts.”

According to Sudanese sources, media reports on Al-Obeid serve as a smokescreen to cover up military movements and logistical preparations carried out by the army in Jabra Al-Sheikh, Rahid Al-Nuba, and North Kordofan.

The report explained that “by creating panic around the targets, the Sudanese army is given the green light to strengthen its positions in the strategic areas of North Kordofan under the pretext of protecting national security or securing the fronts, which legitimizes expansive military operations that would have faced greater international pressure if they were in the spotlight.”

The group “Emergency Lawyers” confirmed in a statement that an Antonov aircraft belonging to the army dropped barrel bombs on the areas of Umm Deeb and Al-Jirafah north of the town of Umm Bader in North Darfur state, injuring dozens of children and herders near the water source in Umm Dubai and killing livestock, as this bombing marks a resumption of the use of barrel bombs following a period in which this pattern of attacks had subsided

The group accused the Sudanese military and its Islamist allies of dropping barrel bombs on the areas of Umm Dibib and Al-Zaraf in North Kordofan using an Antonov military transport aircraft, which, among the casualties of civilians—including children and herders—resulted in the death of livestock and endangered civilian mining workers.

The group emphasized that the two areas contained no military targets, considering the attack a serious violation of international humanitarian law. It demanded an end to indiscriminate attacks, the opening of independent investigations, and that those responsible be held accountable.