Demolition of Al Khairat neighbourhood, Khartoum

Content warning: this report contains links to graphic footage and descriptions of violence, including the forced displacement of civilians. 

On 18 May 2025, videos began to circulate online showing the destruction and removal of residential infrastructure in the Al Khairat neighbourhood of East Nile, Khartoum State. On 28 May, independent Sudanese news outlet Dabanga reported that, according to long-term Al Khairat residents, hundreds of residents were evicted, and their homes were destroyed without formal warning. CIR verified user-generated content on social media and satellite imagery showing extensive damage to approximately 1.39 square kilometres (km2) of Al Khairat between 18 and 31 May.  

Prior to the destruction, Al Khairat was reportedly home to members of the Kanabi community, a marginalised group that has been the subject of hate speech and misinformation since at least October 2024, when pro-Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) social media accounts started circulating false claims accusing the Kanabi of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Gezira state (see “Gezira’s marginalised Kanabi community targeted in ‘fierce campaign’ of hate online”, Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), December 2024). In January, CIR also verified fire damage to three Kanabi settlements in Gezira likely caused by arson attacks (see “Kanabi settlements burn as violence spreads across Gezira”, CIR, January 2025).  

Demolition of Al Khairat

CIR collected several videos that were posted between 19 and 28 May, showing destroyed houses and damage to civilian infrastructure, including a water pump. On 19 May, a pro-SAF TikTok account posted four images showing tractors in the process of demolishing residential buildings. The post’s caption claims the images are from the Al Khairat neighbourhood in Khartoum State and that the demolitions were ordered by the government. CIR has not yet geolocated the footage but verified five other videos showing demolished buildings in the Al Khairat neighbourhood and confirmed the damage on satellite imagery. 

In one video, posted to a Facebook page dedicated to Nuba affairs on 27 May, a group of people in civilian clothing appear to be holding a meeting surrounded by demolished buildings (figure 1 – video 1). CIR geolocated the footage to a courtyard in Al Khairat. In the footage, someone in civilian clothing is seen speaking, expressing frustration at repeated demolitions without explanation or compensation.  

On 27 May, the Central Committee of the Kanabi Congress posted a video to Facebook showing a woman speaking in front of the same group in the same location. In the video, the woman claims that, while the RSF occupied both Arab and non-Arab neighbourhoods, the SAF only targeted non-Arab areas. She then calls on non-Arab fighters who receive payment to fight alongside the SAF to speak out about the demolitions. 

Another video, posted by a pro-SAF TikTok account on 28 May, shows a man walking through a demolished residential area, showcasing the extent of the damage, including to what appears to be the destroyed water pump. CIR geolocated the video to the eastern edge of the Al Khairat neighbourhood (figure 1 – video 2). 

CIR verified other three videos, posted by the same pro-SAF TikTok account on 26 May, showing people with SAF-affiliated uniforms and insignia, and people in civilian clothing gathered amid debris in the Khairat neighbourhood. CIR geolocated all three videos to a football pitch on the eastern side of the neighbourhood (figure 1 – video 3). 

Damage on satellite imagery

Comparative analysis of Copernicus satellite imagery from 17 and 26 May shows that large areas of the Al Khairat neighbourhood were demolished between these dates. The imagery shows an area of approximately 1.39 km2 affected by the demolition. Furthermore, comparative analysis of high-resolution Planet satellite imagery from 2 February and 22 May shows the full extent of the destruction and disappearance of residential infrastructure (figures 2 and 3). 

Attribution

Multiple sources, including pro-government accounts and local officials cited in media, attributed responsibility for the demolition of Al Khairat to the Khartoum state authorities and SAF-affiliated actors.

On 22 May, Sudan News Agency (SUNA), the official news agency of Sudan, published a statement with images claiming that the Governor of Khartoum, Ahmed Othman Hamza, the Secretary General of the State Government [the Governor], Hadi Abdel-Sayed Ibrahim, the Executive Director of East Nile Local, Murtada Yaqoub Banqa, and the Director of the Land Protection Agency, Abdul Aziz Abdullah, oversaw the removal of “random dwellings” in the Al Khairat area. The post implies that these “random dwellings” were “encroaching” on the land. CIR assessed that the men in the footage closely match the appearance of Hamza and Ibrahim but has not yet geolocated the footage. 

On 27 May, a personal TikTok account posted a video showing a man in a uniform with a Military Intelligence Service patch, speaking with people in civilian clothing among debris from the demolition (figure 4 – video 1). In the footage, the man in uniform states that he met with the Governor and was informed of plans to demolish a school and water well the following day. In the video, he also claims that the demolition crew had already started to destroy the village. CIR additionally identified other SAF and SAF-affiliated uniforms in verified footage, including a uniform resembling that worn mostly by SAF 9th Airborne Division (figure 4 – video 2).

On 19 May, Sudan News, a pro-SAF news platform, posted footage showing the destruction of buildings with a caption stating that the authorities seized looted items from slums in the Al Khairat area during their demolition. CIR could not geolocate the footage, however the caption suggests that Kanabi residents were responsible for the looting, a narrative which has been used before by pro-SAF accounts when the SAF stormed Kanabi settlements in Gezira State. In February 2025, CIR also documented claims posted by pro-SAF accounts on social media accusing Kanabi residents in Gezira of looting and portraying them as illegitimate occupants. 

The demolition of Al Khairat has been widely condemned by Sudanese civil society. On 28 May, the Central Committee of the Kanabi Conference published a statement condemning the evictions, with claims that the incident was ethnically motivated and followed a history of marginalisation. CIR could not confirm the claim of ethnically motivated intent but has documented several reports of alleged SAF or SAF-affiliated violations carried out against the Kanabi since October 2024.  

Attacks on Kanabi settlements began before Sudan’s current war broke out in April 2023. In April 2018, Dabanga reported that the Sudanese police forcibly demolished large parts of Kombo Aftas, El Hasaheisa, Gezira, and arrested Kanabi civilians, including women and children, residing there.

The destruction of property in areas inhabited by Kanabi communities has occurred repeatedly across Gezira state and Khartoum state. Following the demolition in Al Khairat, Darfur Victim Support reported that almost 1,000 homes were damaged, leaving residents homeless and causing large-scale displacement. In an interview with Blue Nile TV posted to YouTube on 4 June, Abdul Aziz Abdullah Ahmed, Director of the Land Protection and Violations Removal Authority in Khartoum State, claims that informal settlements are “considered be a part of this war, or a contributor or a helper in it in a very big way” and that they have developed an extensive plan to remove them across Khartoum State. CIR will continue to monitor the demolitions and impact on Kanabi communities.