Sudan’s Al-Nahud Massacre: Another Heinous Crime Resulting from yet Another Capitalist Inspired War

News:

On the 3^rd May, the Sudanese National Commission for Human Rights stated that at least 300 civilians, including 21 children and 13 women were killed in an attack by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) in the city of Al-Nahud in the west Kordofan state of Sudan. It was also reported that RSF fighters looted medical supplies, local markets, people’s properties and Al-Nahud Hospital as well as destroying public facilities. The town was sheltering displaced people fleeing from Al-Obeid, Umm Kadada, Khartoum and El-Fasher. The city was previously under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), however, on Friday 2^nd May, the RSF announced that it had taken full control of Al-Nahud following fighting with government forces.

Comment:

The Al-Nahud massacre is just one of the countless massacres of innocent civilians in Sudan due to this senseless war between the SAF led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, President of the Sovereignty Council and de factor ruler of Sudan, and the RSF headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”) who was previously al-Burhan’s deputy in the Sovereignty Council. In the last 3 weeks alone, fighting in the North Darfur region has killed at least 542 people but the actual death toll is likely to be higher according to UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, who stated that “The horror unfolding in Sudan knows no bounds”.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in this conflict which has now entered its third year, with some estimates putting the death toll as high as 150,000 (according to the Norwegian Refugee Council and former US envoy for Sudan), with horrendous atrocities committed by both sides, including cold-blooded executions, torture, mass rapes and other sexual crimes against women and girls. Sudan is also suffering from the largest humanitarian crisis globally, with more than fourteen million having been displaced, giving rise to the largest displacement crisis in the world. Half of its population of 50 million faces hunger, with The World Food Program confirming that there is famine in 10 locations, including the Zamzam camp, home to 400,000 displaced persons, and warning that it could spread further, putting millions at risk of starvation. Deteriorating food security risks are triggering the “world’s largest hunger crisis”, with both sides using hunger as a weapon of war by blocking the entry of food into areas held by the other.

We should not be fooled into believing that the current conflict Is simply a power struggle between two military factions and their power-hungry leaders fighting for control over the country. Sudan has become a chessboard in which various regional and international governments are vying for influence within the state, hoping to cash-in on the huge resources that the land enjoys, as well as benefit from the geopolitical strategic importance of the country. Sudan is filled with natural resources such as gold, oil, natural gas, uranium, chromite and iron ore as well as fertile agricultural land. Moreover, its location along the Nile River and its proximity to the Red Sea which is a major corridor for international trade, connecting Asia and Europe, provides crucial strategic advantages for trade and transportation. It is estimated that approximately 12-15% of global maritime trade, valued at over $1 trillion, passes through the Red Sea annually.

Hence, Sudan has become a battleground for various states jostling for influence in the land, with countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, America, Britain, China, and Russia all looking for a dominant piece of the pie. Saudi Arabia for example is supporting the SAF via Egypt, while the UAE backs the RSF, having benefitted from $16 billion worth of gold exports mainly sourced from areas controlled by Hemedti. Meanwhile, America has long been recognized as the supporter of the various military factions in Sudan, engaging in various underhand maneuvers to prevent a civilian government from taking power in the country, mainly in the form of the Forces for Freedom and Change, following the toppling of Omar al-Bashir, who are backed by the British and Europeans who also wish to gain a foot hold within the state. These various governments, driven by their materialistic capitalist ideals and insatiable hunger for wealth acquisition, have no qualms about instigating or fueling wars for profit. They care nothing about the horrendous death toll, or the scale of human suffering or the humanitarian catastrophe created – as long as their political and economic interests are secured.

The blood-thirsty rule by power-hungry local leaders and the political games being played by outside powers within Sudan and in lands across the Muslim world will not end until a truly independent leadership and system is established in the region which views itself as the guardian and protector of its people, their land and resources. This is nothing other than the Khilafah based upon the method of the Prophethood. The Khilafah will uproot and safeguard the state against all colonial and foreign interference, for sovereignty is to the Command of Allah and not the dictates of human beings whether local or international. It will take the natural resources of its lands back into public ownership, and away from the control of wealthy and powerful individuals or elite, so that the people in general benefit from the resources and wealth of the state, according to the hadith of the Prophet (saw), «الْمُسْلِمُونَ شُرَكَاءُ فِي ثَلَاثٍ: فِي الْمَاءِ وَالْكَلَأِ وَالنَّارِ، وَثَمَنُهُ حَرَامٌ»“The Muslims are partners in three things: water, pasture and fire, and their price is unlawful.” We saw for example, how the implementation of the Islamic economic system was able to uproot poverty from North Africa during the rule of the 8^th century Khalifah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz, such that no-one was eligible to be the recipient of Zakat, for the people had been enriched due to the effective distribution of wealth under Islamic rule. It is the Khilafah which will act as a unifying force between those of different tribes, ethnicities and even faiths for it is state that is obligated by Islam to look after the needs of all its citizens equally without discrimination and ensure that they all enjoy a good quality of life and the same rights of citizenship, including the protection of their life, honour, property and beliefs. It is, therefore, the urgent establishment of this state alone that holds the key to end the internal conflicts, humanitarian disasters, and crippling poverty that currently plagues the Muslim lands.