The EU Sanctions Kikil: An International Step Toward Justice for Victims of Al-Kanabi Violations
Dr. Jaafar Mohammedin Abdeen📧 gafertamok@gmail.com
🗓️ July 19, 2025
A First Step in the Path of International Justice
The Al-Kanabi people—mostly ethnic groups and tribes from Darfur, Kordofan, and the Nuba Mountains—have lived under systematic discrimination and recurring violence for generations, often with the silence or complicity of successive ruling regimes since Sudan's independence. The Babanusa Crime of 1996: The Holocaust of Sharif Yaqoub.
On that dark night, an armed group of local residents surrounded a Quran memorization khalwa (religious retreat) and set it on fire, killing 27 students—all from the Tama tribe—as they reverently recited the verses of God inside the khalwa.
Despite a criminal case being filed at the time, the lawyer who defended the victims was subjected to direct threats, and the case was suppressed and covered up, in one of the most horrific manifestations of impunity.
Kikil Militia Crimes after the Outbreak of the War
With the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in 2023, violations against the Kenabe residents renewed with even greater brutality. The Kikel militia (Sudan Shield) launched bloody attacks on Camp Taiba, east of Umm al-Qura, committing rape, slaughtering young men, killing elders, and forcibly displacing dozens of families.
Field reports documented these crimes in multiple locations, most notably:
- Al-Hadiba Village
- Dar al-Salam
- Camp 16
- and other Kanabi communities in Gezira State.
The Importance of European Sanctions
The European sanctions on the commander of the Sudan Shield represent:
The beginning of an international phase of accountability and an end to impunity.
A clear message to the perpetrators that their crimes will not go unpunished, no matter how long it takes.
However, this step, despite its significant symbolism, is not enough on its own. It must be followed by more comprehensive measures, including:
Expanding the sanctions lists to include militia leaders and political officials involved.
Pressure the Sudanese government to hand over the accused and bring them to fair trials.
Justice will only be restored through a comprehensive dismantling of this structure, using legal, political, and judicial tools at the local and international levels.
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