⭕️Mashad Observatory: The Massacres of Shaq Al-Nawm and Wad Hamid Are Acts of Genocide That Do Not Fall Under the Statute of Limitations and Demand an Urgent International Investigation⭕️
Mashad Observatory strongly condemns the heinous massacres and acts of genocide committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the villages of Shaq Al-Nawm and Wad Hamid in North Kordofan State, which resulted in the killing of more than 319 civilians, including 64 children under the age of eighteen, in addition to the injury of hundreds of civilians with varying degrees of severity. Furthermore, more than 10 women were subjected to extremely brutal sexual assaults in one of the most atrocious crimes in modern Sudanese history.
Eyewitness testimonies and field reports indicate that what occurred constitutes a systematic and premeditated campaign of genocide. It began with the encirclement of the villages from all directions, followed by a direct assault targeting unarmed civilians. The attack involved indiscriminate gunfire, the burning of homes and shops to the ground, and the complete transformation of the area into ashes. This was accompanied by widespread looting, brutal torture, and organized sexual violence — a scene that defies human comprehension.
What took place in Shaq Al-Nawm and Wad Hamid constitutes genocide and crimes against humanity under international law, including the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. These are crimes that do not expire with time and necessitate immediate and resolute international action.
Mashad Observatory calls for an urgent and independent international investigation under the supervision of the United Nations to ascertain the facts, document evidence, and bring the perpetrators to justice. It also urges immediate intervention to deliver humanitarian and medical aid to the affected population and to ensure urgent protection for civilians, especially women and children. Additionally, it calls for the psychosocial rehabilitation of survivors and the activation of international mechanisms to impose deterrent sanctions against the perpetrators.
The Observatory warns that the continued regional and international silence in the face of these crimes constitutes implicit complicity and direct encouragement for their repetition in other areas, which threatens the future of peace and stability in Sudan and deepens the suffering of its people.
Mashad Observatory reiterates its full commitment to continue monitoring, documentation, and legal support for the victims and their families. It will work with national and international partners to ensure justice, redress for the victims, and accountability for all those whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents.
These pure lives will not be lost in vain. Justice will remain a non-negotiable demand, and no matter how long it takes, history will bear witness that there were those who documented, spoke out, and faced the truth.
