This Sunday, the Atbara Criminal Court in northern Sudan sentenced 17 soldiers, a civilian and sympathizers of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (FAR) to death for the attack on Merowe airport on April 15, 2023, the first day of the rebellion against the army.
The court also seized the funds of these 18 defendants, who are waiting in prison to be executed by hanging, after being convicted of "participating and collaborating in the weakening of the country's constitutional system and exposing its independence and unity to danger".
Among other crimes, they were charged with "incitement to war against the state, endangering means and means of transportation", in a reference to Merowe airport, as well as "vandalism, crimes against humanity, looting and sabotage of public property".
This was the first case the court received since the war began on April 15, 2023, the date from which both opposing sides would have committed war crimes, according to various international organizations and the United Nations.
This attack killed 43 people and wounded 79 members of the Sudanese armed forces, almost completely destroying the airport and damaging a large number of aircraft.
The war in Sudan broke out in the midst of a process to integrate the FAR into the regular forces, which triggered a power struggle between the generals of both factions that led to a bloody conflict that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and more than 10 million displaced people.
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