{"id":47959,"date":"2025-05-06T21:34:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=47959"},"modified":"2025-05-06T21:34:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:34:56","slug":"targeting-the-state-when-civilian-infrastructure-becomes-a-battlefield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/targeting-the-state-when-civilian-infrastructure-becomes-a-battlefield\/","title":{"rendered":"Targeting the State: When Civilian Infrastructure Becomes a Battlefield"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Abd al-Nasir Salim Hamid<\/strong><\/p>\n

When hospitals become targets, camps become battlegrounds, and children silently fall as victims, we know we are not witnessing a war \u2014 but a total collapse of meaning. Sudan is being erased, facility by facility. No objection. No accountability. Just a resounding international silence. Since the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, the targeting of civilians and infrastructure has ceased to be an exception \u2014 it has become a central tactic in managing the conflict. Hospitals, airports, displacement camps, and electricity and water networks have become fixed targets on the bombing map \u2014 a scene reflecting the breakdown of all restraint, where violence becomes policy.<\/p>\n

In May 2025, the RSF launched a drone attack on Port Sudan, the last relatively stable stronghold in the country. Fuel depots and the civilian airport were targeted, halting air traffic and igniting fires that disrupted vital supplies. This was not a defensive maneuver nor part of an active battlefront \u2014 it was a clear strategic message: the RSF’s long arm can reach whatever remains of the national infrastructure, even far from combat zones. Port Sudan is not merely a coastal city; it is a symbol of administrative endurance and a lifeline for economic survival. Targeting it is not arbitrary \u2014 it is a decision to tighten the chokehold.<\/p>\n

Just weeks later, a horrifying massacre occurred in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur. More than 400 people \u2014 mostly women and children \u2014 were killed in a series of attacks: reconnaissance, airstrikes, ground assault. Facilities were destroyed, food stores were burned, and tents flattened. There was no resistance. No combatants. Only displaced civilians fleeing a previous war. Eyewitnesses reported gunfire at those fleeing and mothers denied a chance to escape. This was not a battle \u2014 it was a field execution of a population left without protection.<\/p>\n

In El Fasher, in January of the same year, a drone targeted the Saudi Maternity Hospital, killing 70 people \u2014 including women in labor, doctors, and nurses. There was no military activity near the hospital. Not even a pretext. Although the attack was documented in sound and image, no investigation followed. No sanctions. Not even an indication of accountability. Only statements of \u201cconcern.\u201d And more victims. The silence is no longer surprising \u2014 it has become part of the scene.<\/p>\n

The RSF denies responsibility, accusing other parties of using civilian infrastructure for military purposes. However, the attacks often occur far from battle lines and target areas with no clashes. This narrative, repeated with nearly every bombing, collapses under the weight of repetition and field verification, lacking any real support in investigative or legal arenas. How can clearly marked, well-known hospitals be bombed without even prompting debate at the Security Council?<\/p>\n

Under international humanitarian law \u2014 specifically the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols \u2014 targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, camps, and utilities constitutes a clear war crime. Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that \u201ccivilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick… may in no circumstances be the object of attack but shall at all times be respected and protected.\u201d The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, in Article 8, prohibits \u201cintentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or against civilian objects,\u201d considering such acts among the most serious crimes subject to prosecution. Given the nature and repetition of RSF attacks, these are not isolated mistakes or collateral damage \u2014 they form a systematic pattern that may rise to crimes against humanity or genocide if political intent and methodical targeting are proven.<\/p>\n

Reports from human rights organizations \u2014 notably Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International \u2014 affirm that these incidents are not random. There is a repeated pattern: systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure in areas outside direct RSF control. Since the war began, over 120 attacks on civilian facilities have been documented \u2014 including 15 hospitals, 9 displacement camps, and dozens of schools and service centers. In May 2025, international lawyers submitted a legal case to the War Crimes Unit of London\u2019s police, accusing RSF leadership \u2014 particularly Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) \u2014 of war crimes and crimes against humanity, based on the principle of command responsibility: holding leaders accountable for acts committed under their orders or with their knowledge.<\/p>\n

The continued destruction of Sudan\u2019s civilian infrastructure is not only a humanitarian catastrophe but a threat to regional stability. Mass displacement, service collapse, and the creation of lawless zones could escalate into a crisis that surpasses Sudan\u2019s borders and affects its neighbors and Red Sea security. In the absence of deterrence, a dangerous precedent takes hold: that bombing can become a tool of governance.<\/p>\n

The impact goes beyond physical destruction. The deeper damage is psychological and social. Families displaced multiple times, children with no education, communities stripped of health centers and essential services, women left without security or support. What future awaits this new generation \u2014 raised only on displacement and airstrikes? Every child without a school signals a looming crisis as dangerous as today\u2019s war. What\u2019s unfolding is not just the destruction of cities or facilities \u2014 but of the very cohesion of society. It is the long erosion of any possibility for stability or recovery.<\/p>\n

Although some statements have been issued by countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt condemning the targeting of civilian facilities, these have not translated into real action. There is no genuine international pressure or binding measures to stop the violations or hold perpetrators accountable. This indifference fosters a climate of impunity and sends a message: that bombing civilians can proceed without political or legal cost.<\/p>\n

Sudan is not the first country where civilians are bombed \u2014 but it may be the first whose state is completely dismantled through systematic targeting of its infrastructure without meaningful consequences. If this model is not deterred, it risks becoming a replicable template \u2014 not an exception. What we are witnessing is not just an armed conflict \u2014 but a full-scale assault on the very idea of the state, and on international norms themselves. In Sudan, it\u2019s not only weapons being tested \u2014 but silence as well. And if this silence is not broken, the next crime is not far off.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most dangerous of all is that the Sudan model could evolve into an \u201cunspoken template\u201d for other armed groups in future conflicts. If drones can be used against schools, hospitals, and displacement camps without consequences, future battlefields will make no distinction between a military base and a medical center. Civilians will always be the weakest link, and power will reward those with technology \u2014 not those who respect the law. The absence of accountability is not just a gap \u2014 it is a motive for repetition. If no firm precedent is set in Sudan, these crimes will reappear elsewhere \u2014 justified by new excuses.<\/p>\n

In this complex scene, vulnerable peoples cannot afford to wait. And the world cannot afford the luxury of silence. If war is measured by the number of dead, peace is measured by those left unharmed, un-displaced, and respected in their humanity \u2014 even without weapons. Today, Sudan presents an open test to all who claim to defend international law. And the result\u2026 remains unresolved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Abd al-Nasir Salim Hamid When hospitals become targets, camps become battlegrounds, and children silently fall as victims, we know we are not witnessing a war \u2014 but a total collapse of meaning. Sudan is being erased, facility by facility. No objection. No accountability. Just a resounding international silence. Since the outbreak of war between …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47959"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47960,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47959\/revisions\/47960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}