Leichen in den Kanälen: Satellitenbilder, Whistleblower und Videos enthüllen ethnisch gezielte Tötungen durch die sudanesische Armee

The horrors of Sudan’s civil war are only intensifying, with an unimaginable human cost. More than [150,000 civilians](https://www.nrc.no/feature/2025/the-humanitarian-crisis-in-sudan-explained) are thought to have been killed, almost [12 million](https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/sudansituation) 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](https://cnn.com/2025/10/30/world/sudan-massacres-rsf-rebels-darfur-intl) 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](https://cnn.com/2025/11/28/politics/trump-sudan-war-negotiations) 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.

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.

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