Bodies in the canals

The horrors of Sudan's civil war are only intensifying, with an unimaginable human cost. More than 150,000 civilians are thought to have been killed, almost 12 million people have been forcibly displaced and multiple areas are beset by famine.

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the country has raged since April 2023, and atrocities committed by the RSF appear to have reached new extremes in recent weeks, with an apparent massacre in the city of El Fasher in the western Darfur region.

Both sides have been sanctioned over alleged war crimes by the United States, which is leading efforts to secure a ceasefire in the conflict. Yet, while ethnically targeted killings by the RSF have been widely documented, CNN can now reveal a pattern of ethnically motivated atrocities by the Sudanese army and its allies.

Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The war broke out when the military and the RSF turned on each other in a struggle for power. AFP/Getty Images The leader of the RSF, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is also known as Hemedti. Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images

A months-long joint investigation by CNN and investigative newsroom Lighthouse Reports has examined the actions of the SAF and traced what happened as its troops recaptured the strategic city of Wad Madani and surrounding areas in Jazira state at the beginning of the year.

By reviewing hundreds of videos, analyzing satellite imagery, tracking down whistleblowers and interviewing survivors on the ground in Sudan, we uncovered evidence that the operation carried out by the SAF and its associated paramilitary groups was marked by ethnic violence, the mass killing of civilians, and the dumping of bodies into canals and mass graves.

CNN and Lighthouse Reports have also spoken to multiple sources who claimed that the orders for this campaign came from the top of the SAF. CNN has contacted the SAF for comment on those allegations, and not received a response.

A member of the United Nations’ independent fact-finding mission for Sudan described the SAF’s actions in this region as a “targeted extermination of people,” that may amount to “ethnic cleansing,” a potential war crime.

The SAF in January condemned what they described as “individual violations” after the recapture of Wad Madani, Jazira's state capital, and announced an investigation into the attacks. CNN has reached out to the SAF about the outcome, with no response.

February 2025 control Pro-SAF RSF Pro