North of the Valley: Demands to file complaints with international institutions and doubts regarding the fact-finding committee

Amsterdam – October 13, 2026 – Radio Dabanga: A wave of Sudanese condemnation continues regarding the bombing of artisanal miners in North of the Valley on the Sudanese-Egyptian border, amid calls from human rights groups for an international investigation and the filing of a complaint against Egypt. Meanwhile, activists have launched a social media campaign under the hashtag (#Rights_of_the_Dahaba) demanding accountability for those involved in bombing the artisanal miners. A number of resistance committee formations, the Radical Change Alliance, the Communist Party, the Forces of the Declaration of Principles, the Journalists Syndicate, and other entities condemned the bombing, emphasizing the need for an investigation into the crime. For his part, Minni Arko Minnawi, Governor of the Darfur region, demanded expediting the announcement of investigation results, identifying those involved, and holding the perpetrators of this crime accountable. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) expressed deep regret over the killing of several Sudanese miners due to the airstrike in the North of the Valley area on the border between Sudan and Egypt. The movement also expressed its regret over the incident involving the killing of Egyptian citizens and the injury of a third party following an armed assault in the capital, Khartoum. It called for avoiding being swayed by disinformation and incitement campaigns, as well as unverified information or exaggerated casualty figures circulated by certain media outlets linked to the Rapid Support Forces militia. Demands to file complaints Lawyers and human rights defenders have called for filing complaints with international and regional institutions regarding the killing of the miners. Attorney Rehab Mubarak called on Sudanese civil society organizations to file complaints with relevant international institutions to demand that Egypt be held accountable for the crimes committed, namely the bombing of artisanal miners in North of the Valley. In an interview with Radio Dabanga, she explained that the main points of accusation against Egypt involve engaging in hostile acts within Sudanese territory and assisting what she described as the Al-Burhan government in supporting aerial bombardment of civilians, noting that aviation has played a major role in killing civilians since 2023. Violation of sovereignty For her part, lawyer Nafisa Hajar, Deputy Head of the Darfur Bar Association, condemned the bombing of the miners in North of the Valley and considered it a "very dangerous development" and a flagrant violation of Sudanese national sovereignty and international humanitarian law. This is due to the Egyptian forces' use of excessive force, including airstrikes, against Sudanese civilians engaged in mining in North of the Valley. She considered the event to be a violation of sovereignty and international law, denying any justification for Egypt to use excessive force against unarmed civilians, even if they crossed the border from Sudan into Egypt (which does not justify killing), as this constitutes a violation of national sovereignty and the principles protecting civilians in international humanitarian law, stating that what happened amounts to a "crime of aggression." She accused the Sudanese authorities of inaction, pointing to a technical and political challenge represented by the lack of will among international institutions (due to the politicization of justice), as well as the lack of national will from the Sudanese regime to take action. She noted the existence of a "quid pro quo" between the Egyptian and Sudanese authorities, which makes the Sudanese regime "completely lax" in protecting civilians and addressing violations of sovereignty. She confirmed that Egyptian incursions into Sudanese borders are nothing new, and the incident is not isolated, citing a previous incident in June where the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council refused to explicitly name Egypt. Doubts regarding the fact-finding committee Regarding Al-Burhan's directive to form a fact-finding committee, lawyer Nafisa Hajar pointed to the lack of trust in local government investigative committees in Sudan, asserting that their results are often shelved and do not lead to a genuine investigation. She pointed to the "Investigation Committee on the Dispersal of the General Command Sit-in chaired by Nabil Adib" and other investigative committees that failed to produce any transparent or binding results, explaining that their goal is often to "absorb anger" and temporarily soothe wounds. She attributed this failure to a "suspicion of interest" between the Egyptian and Sudanese regimes, where each regime covers up the crimes of the other. She called for the need to document the incident accurately and systematically, and to collect evidence and survivor testimonies as a fundamental part of the criminal process. She stressed the need to form a unified Sudanese human rights and political pressure front from civil society and political forces to submit official and comprehensive memoranda and complaints, while emphasizing the need for international action and resorting to treaty and non-treaty mechanisms at the United Nations and the African Union (despite their perceived weakness). She emphasized the rejection of any political settlement that would waste the rights of unarmed civilians and the blood of the people. She warned that silence could open the door for further violation by the Egyptian regime and enable it to swallow large parts of Sudan, citing Hala'ib and Shalateen, and asserting that the current incursion is being carried out with lethal force to displace civilians from their areas.