Sudan on the brink of de facto apartheid: Ethnic divides and fractures within the military alliance

As Sudan’s armed conflict enters its third year, the country descends deeper into a humanitarian crisis, with over 14 million people internally displaced and famine threatening more than half of its states.

Beneath the surface of hunger and displacement, however, signs of a systematic ethnic discrimination are rapidly emerging, tearing apart Sudan’s fragile social fabric. State institutions are increasingly being used to implement punitive and selective policies, most notably in Al Jazirah State, which has become a hotspot for settling political and ethnic scores under the guise of "urban planning."

In recent days, local authorities in Al Jazirah have launched a wide-scale demolition campaign targeting hundreds of homes and shops in neighborhoods mostly inhabited by displaced families from Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile.
The Sudanese Rights Coalition described the campaign as a “systematic act of retaliation,” stating:

“The demolitions disproportionately target specific communities. These neighborhoods have existed for decades with state approval, receiving public infrastructure such as schools, mosques, and health centers - effectively recognizing their legal status.”

Human rights organizations expressed shock at the timing, noting that the demolitions were carried out at the peak of the rainy season, rendering relocation nearly impossible. Families were thrown into the streets without shelter or compensation, a move described as a stark departure from previous practices that at least considered humanitarian concerns.

The demolitions were accompanied by an uptick in discriminatory and hate-filled media campaigns, which categorize residents based on ethnic and geographic origins. According to the coalition's statement:

“In this context, the demolitions appear to serve political and racist agendas more than administrative goals, deepening exclusion, discrimination, and collective punishment.”

Activists from the resistance committees in Al-Hasahisa reported selective enforcement of the demolitions, with similar neighborhoods spared due to differences in ethnic composition.

Legal experts argue that these measures amount to forced displacement and violate Sudan’s national and international obligations, including Article 29 of Sudan’s Interim Constitution prohibiting arbitrary deprivation of property; Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees the right to property; the Kampala Convention mandating protection for internally displaced persons; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which prohibits discrimination and guarantees the right to housing.

Amnesty International previously called for an end to “all forms of collective punishment based on identity or geographic origin.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that “targeting specific communities under catastrophic humanitarian conditions may amount to group persecution.”

This escalation coincides with rising discontent among armed groups allied with the army - particularly from the Zaghawa and Masalit communities - who have begun to reassess their alliance, citing “systematic discrimination” against their people.
Field reports quoted local commanders saying they feel “betrayed,” especially as their neighborhoods were singled out despite their prior support of the military in its operations against the Rapid Support Forces.

The Sudanese Rights Coalition has called for an independent investigation into the ongoing violations in Al Jazirah State, an immediate suspension of demolition orders, emergency shelter and fair compensation for affected families, and direct intervention by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and relevant UN special rapporteurs.

“Using legal instruments to justify collective punishment and ethnic discrimination is intolerable,” the coalition stated. “This is not merely administrative abuse - it is an assault on the dignity and safety of entire communities.”

What is happening in Al Jazirah is not just a local administrative decision; it is a dangerous indicator of the state's slide toward a covert form of apartheid.
The Sudanese conflict may take many forms, but the most perilous is that which hides behind bureaucracy - executing exclusion and displacement in the name of law. In this context, continued silence from African and international actors is no longer acceptable.

[By Francis Ahovi, Global Security For Africa Research and Good Governance (GLOSARRG)]