Street Gangs Terrorize Sudanese Displaced People in Kordofan

Armed robbery incidents have increased rapidly in recent weeks across several towns and areas in West and South Kordofan, particularly on roads and during civilian travel. The incidents have also targeted travelers and people fleeing the fighting, creating a serious threat and source of fear for residents and restricting their normal movement and commercial activities.

Armed groups and gangs are now targeting Sudanese civilians on a daily basis. Their activities have evolved from theft and fleeing on motorcycles to stopping and threatening people, carrying out robberies at gunpoint, and, in some cases, killing or seriously injuring victims who resist.

Robbery and Assault

Sufian Khidr, who lives in Al-Fula, West Kordofan, told Mashaweer that “the absence of security measures and the lack of police presence in the region have enabled armed groups and gangs, some equipped with firearms and bladed weapons, to carry out criminal activities in broad daylight.” He said the groups conduct widespread robberies along roads and routes used by civilians traveling to El Obeid, En Nahud, and Abu Zabad.

He explained that “these gangs attack travelers and people fleeing the fighting, detaining some of them at gunpoint and intimidating them in order to take their money and phones, as well as women’s valuables. They show no consideration for elderly people, children, or patients traveling between cities to seek medical treatment.”

He stressed that “the increase in armed robberies and violent assaults has led to the suspension of commercial activities between areas of West Kordofan. Goods and food supplies are also failing to reach the region from El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, and from Al-Na’am, an area bordering South Sudan. This has further worsened living conditions, with the prices of basic commodities and medicines rising to record levels beyond the means of thousands of families.”

Violence and Growing Risks

Adel Hamed, who lives in Ayal Bakhit, said the “geographical spread of armed groups and gangs has expanded along major roads and in areas where travelers gather, due to the large numbers of civilians passing through daily and the opportunity to obtain money and savings.”

He pointed out that “robberies are increasingly accompanied by violence when victims resist or refuse to surrender their money or phones, and in some cases people are killed for the sake of theft. As a result, the dangers have increased to unprecedented levels.”

Hamed noted that “these conditions have forced travelers and patients to remain where they are for fear of being killed or seriously injured, at a time when residents have very limited options: either stay and face hunger and disease because of the lack of food and healthcare, or risk leaving and facing danger.”

Threats to Civilians

Meanwhile, the Dar Hamar Emergency Room complained about the continued looting and robbery and the threats facing civilian movement, trade, and travel between towns and villages in West Kordofan. It called for protection for travelers and for the main roads, where armed groups have become increasingly active.

In a statement, the emergency room warned of a rise in looting incidents, saying that an armed force affiliated with what is known as “Group 32” carried out an armed robbery targeting a civilian vehicle traveling from Ayal Bakhit to En Nahud and seized its belongings.

The statement added that “Rapid Support Forces” looted solar-power systems operating water stations in En Nahud, as well as electric generators, and destroyed and damaged the infrastructure of major water stations. This resulted in interruptions to water supplies, forcing residents to resort to contaminated and unsafe water sources in order to survive.

Travelers Under Threat

Meanwhile, displacement from Dilling, in South Kordofan, has intensified due to increased indiscriminate artillery shelling and drone attacks on the city by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North.

Ammar Al-Fadil, a resident, told Mashaweer that “dozens of families gather every day at transport stations and in cargo trucks to travel toward Habila on the road to Al-Abbasiya and Abu Jubaiha. Others are leaving for safer areas in North Kordofan and White Nile states in search of security and a chance to survive.”

He noted that the Sudanese Army had taken control of areas south and east of Dilling and reopened roads leading to the city, facilitating the movement of civilians fleeing to other destinations. However, he said, the dangers of robbery and looting continue to threaten hundreds of people, particularly amid the activities of armed groups that restrict civilian movement and travel.

Al-Fadil confirmed that “armed robbery gangs are heavily deployed along the roads, intimidating and terrorizing travelers heading to new destinations and taking their money and phones at gunpoint, in addition to stealing women’s bags in broad daylight.”

Vehicles Targeted

Al-Hadi Saad, who had already arrived with his family in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, said “people fleeing the shelling in Dilling face growing dangers during their journey to safer areas, particularly amid the presence of armed groups wearing military uniforms and committing horrific crimes, including shooting people dead for the purpose of theft.”

Saad added: “Thieves and gangs move freely and in broad daylight, targeting cars and trucks carrying civilians on the roads. They threaten travelers and steal their phones, personal belongings, and money, in addition to attacking them with bladed weapons, including machetes and knives, and causing physical harm when victims resist.”

He continued: “The thieves assume various identities and appear as soldiers while looting civilian vehicles leaving Dilling for safer areas, taking the personal belongings of passengers.”